Romanian govt announces 10% cut in public sector jobs

Romania's prime minister on Tuesday announced a 10-percent cut in public sector staff, as part of cost-saving measures to reduce Europe's biggest budget deficit.

Ilie Bolojan came to power in June last year, and has since taken a series of unpopular measures, including raising taxes.

The latest proposal will affect some 13,000 municipal employees.

The cuts will come into effect by 2027.

"We are reducing the central administrative apparatus," Development Minister Attila Cseke told the Digi24 television channel.

"The number of posts in ministerial cabinets and in the offices of elected officials within the central and local administration will reduce significantly."

Posts in education, culture, defence, the police and hospitals will not be affected, he added.

Public sector unions wrote in a letter to Bolojan and Cseke that the cuts would hit hard and affect "fundamental rights and legal certainty".

Bolojan wrote on social media earlier this month that "the transition from a model based on deficit and consumption" had begun.

He said the model "seemed to generate prosperity but was in fact destructive", adding that its replacement was "based on investment, productivity, exports and fiscal discipline".