HUNDREDS of jobs hang in the balance at Southampton City Council ahead of a crucial meeting between civic centre leaders tonight.

The Daily Echo understands that the middle management tier is likely to bear the brunt of cuts in a bid to ward off a cash crisis.

Up to 300 redundancies are expected to be confirmed to staff tomorrow following a meeting of the council's ruling Labour group this evening.

As previously reported, a draft plan of cash needed to fund services in Southampton over the next five years revealed a £10m deficit.

Civic leaders are believed to have whittled that down to about £5m but warned jobs losses and council tax rises were inevitable.

Council leader councillor June Bridle refused to comment on how many jobs would go.

She said they had been analysing whether current vacancies needed to be filled and added that no departments had been exempt from the cost-cutting review.

"There will be job losses," she said.

"We have been looking right across the board and no department has been exempt from a thorough review."

Taxpayers in the city could see their bills rocket by almost a quarter under new government proposals.

Southampton is facing a possible £17m loss if plans to divert funding from southern authorities to those in the north are given the green light.

Residents had a 7.9 per cent rise in tax earlier this year, with typical band D households currently paying £833.

They should get a clearer indication of future increases when the council's draft annual budget, which kicks in in April, is unveiled early next month.

Cllr Bridle said: "The government should not be taking money away from us.

"It means having to cut services or putting up the council tax, or a combination of both.

"We are looking to do the best we can with the money we've got.

"We are lobbying the government hard to keep the level of funding so we can keep improving the services people want.

"We have done an awful lot of work on the medium term plan and the gap has been narrowed."

Department heads are expected to be informed of redundancies tomorrow morning before staff are told later in the day.

The council employs about 4,500 people, excluding those at schools.

Union bosses will meet with Cllr Bridle tonight to discuss jobs being axed.

Mike Tucker, Southampton branch secretary of Unison, said: "We will be going through with them what is going on.

"It's fundamentally the government that has caused the problems by refusing to adequately fund local government, particularly in the south.

"Also, as part of the government's movement of resources to the north of the country it will mean a further reduction for authorities in the south."

Councillor Peter Wakeford, deputy leader of the council's Liberal Democrats, said: "We would hate to see jobs losses that affect services in Southampton.

"We do know a tough year lies ahead."

Councillor Royston Smith, of the Conservative group, said: "They could've handled this in a more sensitive way, by re-deploying staff and having natural wastage over a period rather than facing the situation we have now."

Councillor George Melrose, leader of the recently formed Liberal party, said: "The tragedy is there are already staff shortages at the council and services are being hit because of it."