Redundancy payments are set to cost Southampton City Council nearly £2.7m as dozens of employees are due to be let go.

The council received 252 applications from members of staff wishing to take voluntary redundancy. Of those, 67 were accepted.

It will cost the authority £2.69m in redundancy payments.

However, the council says the move will be ‘value for money’ with potential savings of £4.9m by March 2026 and £2m each year after that.

The authority said 75 per cent of redundancies involve staff members whose annual salaries range between £22,368 and £46,549.

The council said decisions were made to ensure the council can provide statutory services by retaining key staff members.

Hundreds of workers were encouraged to apply for voluntary redundancy in June in a bid to save £35 million by the next financial year.

Final leaving dates are yet to be agreed with some staff members.

Southampton City Council's chief executive, Mike Harris, said the process is one of the steps the authority is taking to address the "financial challenge" it faces.

READ MORE: Southampton City Council could go bankrupt by next year - finance chief

He said: “One objective was for this process to also be the catalyst for the further redesign of services and activities to achieve further savings within this financial year and beyond.

“We took into consideration the value for money of the exit payment, the impact of the loss of the post, both to the service and to the rest of the council, and the need to retain the skills and experience that the post brings, in the way that the service is currently delivered.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all colleagues who registered their interest in being considered for voluntary redundancy.”