National Trust takeover could put Shugborough Hall staff at risk of sack
Staff at Shugborough Hall could face the axe when it is taken over by the National Trust later this year, it has emerged.
A consultation is currently being held over the future of the site, but National Trust bosses have said 'there may be redundancies'.
It comes after a meeting between staff, the trust and Staffordshire County Council last week where a number of employees were told there may be 'some redundancies'.
Shugborough currently employs 35 full-time workers, 52 seasonal workers and has 115 volunteers, but it is unclear how many jobs are under threat as the Trust looks to move to a more volunteer-based system.
Matt Critchley, a spokesman for the National Trust said: "We are ever so enthusiastic but the next stage is that we are in consultation with staff and unions trying to work out whether there would be a space for them as we work to a different model.
"We rely heavily on volunteers who want to work for the place of interest rather than the trust. Unfortunately until the consultation is completed we don't know, there may be redundancies.
"But we are not out to make people redundant unnecessarily."
The National Trust has announced an ambitious 10-year plan for when it takes over the site where it is hoping to treble the attraction's visitor numbers and extend its opening season to 364 days a year.
