The Department for Business and Trade’s plans to cut 1,500 jobs against the backdrop of belt-tightening in the wake of June’s Spending Review have been dubbed “irrational and arbitrary” by the the civil service’s biggest union.
PCS said 900 UK roles and 600 overseas roles are at risk as part of the “Future DBT” plan, which would reduce the department’s headcount from 8,000 to 6,500.
The union added that the department is planning to close its Bristol office and considering the closure of bases in Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle, Cambridge and Nottingham.
PCS said the proposals – the formal consultation on which closed last week – would “slash” frontline support for UK business exports, including DBT’s international network of support staff.
As part of the 2025 Spending Review, DBT was among a swathe of departments that pledged to make administration savings of 15% by 2029-30. The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated that DBT was looking at average real-terms spending reductions of just under 2% a year over the course of the review period.
According to PCS, the DBT savings plans include a 38% cut to the department’s Business Group, which is responsible for export support provided to nationally critical business sectors, and a 27% cut to the Domestic and International Markets and Exports unit.
The proposals also involve a 40% cut to the team that supports small and medium-sized enterprises to access international export opportunities, PCS said.
The union suggested that DBT’s plans would see a 30% reduction in its staff based at overseas outposts such as embassies, consulates and high commissions.
It said the Future DBT plan shows the department “gambling on AI and other digital solutions” when it is unclear how such measures would replace the important role played by staff.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said the union is “completely opposed” to DBT’s proposed job cuts and office closures.
“Our hard-working members actively improve UK business at home and abroad,” she said.
"These Labour cuts will mean significant compulsory redundancies, far higher than expected under the previous government. And they will obviously cause real damage to businesses and individuals.
“We want to see investment in trade to grow the economy for the good of all. DBT has planned hastily and without proper consultation. Instead, ministers and managers must listen to unions, business groups and devolved authorities. PCS will absolutely oppose these irrational and arbitrary cuts.”
CSW sought a response from DBT.
The department referred back to comments made by trade policy minister Sir Chris Bryant at the end of last month.
“We’re going to have to achieve more with fewer people. It’s just a fact,” Bryant told the Financial Times. “The truth of the matter is that the department has got to lose 20% of staff by 2029... so this is all part of the efficiency that we’ve got to do, and we’ve got to bite the bullet, I’m afraid.”
DBT did not dispute PCS’s summary of its office-closure plans.