Up to 25 jobs on the line at Launceston council due to ‘Project Shape’
A Tasmanian council chief executive has warned staff of ‘potentially awkward conversations’ as he implements job cuts he admits will feel sudden to workers.
Up to 25 City of Launceston staff could face redeployment or voluntary redundancy under a sweeping restructure unveiled by the council’s executive team, a months-long shake-up for the 600-strong organisation.
On Tuesday, the City of Launceston council announced they had begun implementing Project Shape, a planned organisational realignment.
Chief executive Sam Johnson said Project Shape was “not a cost-cutting exercise”.
“It’s about aligning our structure with the endorsed strategic plan and ensuring we make the very best use of the skills, strengths and expertise across our organisation.
The 25 staff members — four per cent of the workforce — will be offered redeployment or agreed voluntary redundancy, with these being communicated to staff over the week.
The Mercury has also been given a five-minute video message from Mr Johnson sent to councillors and staff.
In the video, Mr Johnson said the leadership team had spent months working on the decision and that it might seem “forthright and blunt”, but it was the best move for the organisation.
“In roles like mine, at executive levels you have to make a decision, and you have to make a decision based on the benefit of the organisation because sometimes we can see things that those in the day-to-day operations can’t see,” he said.
“And we stand by our decision.”
The chief executive also asked for team members to be respectful, pre-empting some “potentially awkward conversations”.
“For some of you that’s going to feel really abrupt and quite abrasive.”
Since starting in April 2024, just 20 months ago, Mr Johnson wanted a strong vision for Launceston.
Mr Johnson said the council had to be in the position to achieve that, which required “change”.
“It’s big and it’s bold and for some of you, I appreciate, it’s going to raise a lot of questions,” he said.
This comes after the council launched their 10-year strategy which includes bold goals like building 4300 new homes by 2035, as well as the goal to boost the CBD to attract businesses.
They also have a goal to grow the population by 30,000 people.
“The best way for us to achieve the things we’ve said we’re going to do, for us to be that bold, ambitious council … we have to make sure we’re agile enough as an organisation to be able to do the things we need to do,” Mr Johnson said in the video to staff.
The council’s annual report for 2024-2025 was also recently published.
Employee benefits were around $55 million, around $6 million higher than the previous financial year.
The council’s income was $154 million, with expenditure being $150.7 million, with employee benefits being the largest expense.
According to the report, the top wage for a senior official, most likely Mr Johnson as CEO, earns between $320,000 to $340,000 annually.
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