NEARLY 30,000 state bureaucrats could lose their jobs if the government fulfils its plans to cut state jobs by one-fifth next year.
How much the state will save thanks to these cuts remains unclear, however. PM Robert Fico believes that the savings will already be felt in 2008, the Pravda daily wrote.
Analysts doubt that blanket layoffs are the best solution. Slovenská sporiteľňa's chief analyst, Juraj Kotian, said that some ministries use their human resources more efficiently than the others.
"If blanket layoffs take place, the most efficient ministries will actually suffer the most. Those ministries that are less efficient [with their staff] will not be hurt that much," Kotian said.
The transport and finance ministries, for instance, underwent audits that were followed by layoffs under the previous government. The Finance Ministry is therefore considering making cuts to the tax and customs units under its authority, as these sectors have not yet been reformed.
