Half of Walsall council’s housing service staff could lose their jobs if a planned stock transfer goes ahead.
It is currently negotiating over the proposed transfer of 25,500 Walsall council homes to Walsall Housing Group. If funding problems are resolved around 450 people will be made redundant over a seven-year period, a move likely to outrage unions.

The transfer process, which was supposed to be completed this month, stalled earlier this year when the council’s £40m valuation of the stock was rejected as being too high. The transfer date has been extended until the end of the year. Almost £270m could potentially be made available for housing improvement if an agreement is reached.

The projected job cuts have been blamed on right-to-buy sales and the planned demolition of up to 2400 properties. In total, the existing stock is set to shrink by up to 6000 over seven years. Demand for repair and maintenance staff is expected to be high at first but to tail off in the long term.