A RE-ORGANISATION of tax offices across Scotland will see 2000 jobs lost across the country.
Scotland’s 18 HMRC offices will be closed and operations consolidated into two new regional centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The shake-up will close offices all over Scotland and cut the number of staff from 8000 to between 5700 and 6300.
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she is demanding urgent talks with the UK Government over the plans announced by HMRC as part of a ten year modernisation programme.
Union leaders said urgent scrutiny was required while Labour said the plan must be halted.
One of the towns hardest hit will be East Kilbride where 3000 jobs will be lost to the town when it’s two centres close.
HMRC, previously the Inland Revenue, has been one of the Lanarkshire New Town’s biggest employers for decades and the closure will end it a long term association when it moves operations to Glasgow.
Politicians and unions have warned of the dire consequences for the town’s economy as thousands will either face redundancy or relocation.
The office at Plaza Tower will close in 2021 and the other at Queensway House by 2025.
Ms Sturgeon said the proposals “would appear to put significant numbers of jobs in Scotland at risk."
The plans will see between 3,400 and 3,700 staff based in a new Glasgow office and 2,300 to 2,600 in Edinburgh, but will reduce overall jobs from the 8000 employed at present.
Offices to close as well as East Kilbride, include, Aberdeen, Dundee, Bathgate and Inverness.
The association with Scotland’s other new towns will also be severed as operations in Cumbernauld, Livingston, Irvine and Glenrothes will also close.
The three current Edinburgh offices and Bathgate and Livingston will move into the new base in the capital.
HMRC said the shake-up will create a tax office “fit for the future” but politicians and union leaders said it is about Tory cuts and threatens to devastate families and impact on communities.
HMRC, Chief executive, Lin Homer, said: "HMRC has too many expensive, isolated and outdated offices. This makes it difficult for us to collaborate, modernise our ways of working and make the changes we need to transform our service to customers and clamp down further on the minority who try to cheat the system.”
The organisation said it would still be an important employer in Scotland.
Ms Homer added: "The new regional centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh will bring our staff together in more modern and cost-effective buildings in areas with lower rents. They will also make a big contribution to the Scottish economy, providing high-quality, skilled jobs and supporting the Government's commitment to a national recovery that benefits all parts of the UK."
The East Kilbride, Cumbernauld and two current offices in Glasgow will move into the new city office whose location is yet to be confirmed.
The SNP said the plans were shocking and Labour said they must be stopped.
Hannah Bardell MP, SNP Business spokesperson at Westminster said: “These closures are shocking and driven by George Osborne’s austerity demands. It is dreadful news for all those workers who will lose their jobs and for communities who depend on these offices to do vital work.”
Labour shadow Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, said: “These job losses will be a devastating blow not just for the individuals concerned, but for the communities where HMRC has been a major employer for decades.
“Every effort must be made to stop these job losses. These cuts will put HMRC under even more pressure at a time when more and more resources are needed to crack down on tax evasion and avoidance.”
Union leaders warned of devastation among the workforce.
PCS union, general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: "No-one should be in any doubt that, if implemented, these proposals would be absolutely devastating for HMRC and the people who work there.
"Closing this many offices would pose a significant threat to the operation of HMRC, its service to the public and the working lives of staff, and the need for parliamentary scrutiny of the plans is undeniable and urgent."
The Irvine and Glenrothes offices are in the process of closing, Dundee and Inverness will shut by 2018.
Offices in Livingston, Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Edinburgh and Bathgate will close by 2020, Aberdeen and East Kilbride Plaza the following year while Queensway House in East Kilbride will remain until 2026.
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