The second phase of the Customer Focused Council review was announced this week.
The executive leadership team would be halved to just two group managers, and a total of 17 positions scrapped, with nine new roles created.
In an e-mail document, chief executive Paul Morris said the proposals were needed to "mitigate the effects of increasing labour costs which have resulted in the council exceeding its budget in this area" to create a lean, efficient staffing model and keep within budget for the 2023-2024 year.
The document included a summary of the projected labour costs with existing staff, compared with the cost savings if the proposal were to proceed.
It also showed a budget deficit to June 2023 of more than $400,000 would soar to $1.3m in 2024 if current roles were retained.
Staff in affected positions were notified on Tuesday morning at one-one-one meetings, and the remainder of council staff informed later in the day.
The following positions are facing the axe: group manager strategy, policy and corporate support; group manager customer and community; people and capabilities officer; Westland Recreation Centre manager; library and museum services manager; aquatic supervisor; fitness and business supervisor; director of project management; ICT application support analyst; customer services officer team leader; BCO administration officer; in-house task force supervisor; in house task force officer; operations admin officer; administration officer; customer service officer; internal auditor and parking warden.
Instead, nine new positions would be created to cover these gaps: group manager support, recreational services manager, customer services supervisor, Westland Recreation supervisor, library and museum supervisor, building control administrator, camping and parking compliance officer, business and contracts administrator, and custodian.
Staff were given a FAQ sheet about the proposals that included 'We are busy already, how can less people do the job?'.
The document said the proposals were derived from the strategic review, authored by Bruce Robertson and Kevan Scott in March 2021.
The Greymouth Star understands the council union has requested more information around the proposals and further financial details.
Mr Morris assured staff that "no final decisions have or will be made until all feedback is gathered and considered through the consultation period".
"I recognise that this might create some ongoing uncertainty, but I'm sure it's the right thing to do," he said.
The final decision is currently scheduled for November 9.
