The jobs of 32 middle managers will be axed by Sandwell Council by September in a bid to save the authority £1.4 million, the Express & Star can reveal.

The authority has already trimmed down its top level of management from 26 to 14 to save £1.1m.

The axe will now fall on the next tier of management — cutting the number of posts by nearly a third from 99 to 67 workers in total. There will also be a shake-up of pay grades.

Council leader Councillor Darren Cooper said: “We’ve already saved £1.1m from the senior management restructure and this further restructure will save a further £1.4m at least. We’re reducing the fourth tier from 99 to 67 people.”

A cost cutting shake-up is underway at the authority and this is the second stage of a management restructure begun at Sandwell “from the top down” as one of Councillor Cooper’s promises to achieve savings. The authority is battling to save £75m by 2015.

The first stage saw senior management posts reduced to form a 14-strong board.