HMRC to sack 3,400 tax officials

The biggest cuts are likely to come at HM Revenue and Customs, where unions claim more than 3,000 jobs are being eliminated as part of an office closure programme.

HMRC announced that 90 of its local branches would be closed over the next two years as it tries to streamline its operations.

The Public and Commercial Services union said that the closures would mean 3,400 jobs would be lost.

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According to the union, the cuts will include 835 jobs lost in the south-west of England, 800 in the east of England, 400 in Yorkshire, 470 in Wales, 400 in Scotland and 190 in Northern Ireland.

Mark Serwotka, the PCS general secretary, said the closures would harm HMRC's services to taxpayers.

He said: "In these uncertain economic times, these closures and job losses will hit businesses, the public and the communities they serve. Rural areas will be disproportionately hit, with face-to-face tax advice reduced to a bare minimum and quality jobs taken out of local economies."

HMRC declined to say how many jobs will be cut as the branches close, but a spokesman accused the PCS of "scare-mongering" and said the agency would try to avoid compulsory redundancies.

The spokesman said: "So far, HMRC has achieved all staff reductions and efficiency targets without compulsory redundancies and it remains our intention to avoid them wherever reasonably possible."

Official figure last month said there there were 1.83 million unemployed in the UK in October, and the total is set to jump dramatically when the data are updated next week. Some economists say unemployment could reach 3 million by the end of next year.

Among other job cuts announced on Thursday:

:: Nomura, a Japanese investment bank, said it was cutting 1,000 jobs from its 4,500 strong workforce in the UK. The move comes less than three months after Nomura bought the European operations of Lehman Bros, the failed US bank.

:: Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank, said it was cutting 650 investment banking jobs in the City of London. The cuts are part of a wider package of 5,300 redundancies worldwide, the bank said.

:: Experian, a credit information firm, said it will cut as many as 300 jobs in the UK and Ireland. The firm said the cuts were "prudent - in view of the market environment."

:: Around 400 jobs were put at risk after The Pier, a furniture chain with nearly 50 sites across the UK, went into administration.

And even the Conservative Party, which has reported booming donations under David Cameron, is tightening its belt.

Around one in ten staff at the party's Westminster headquarters are likely to leave as the party makes "significant" cuts.

Twenty-four party workers were officially told they face redundancy earlier this week.

A Conservative party spokesman said: "Like many organisations in the current economic climate, we need to look very carefully about how we are using our resources and, unfortunately, there is a need to make significant budget cuts."