UP TO 275 line managers' posts are to go at Essex County Council.

The cuts would be made through voluntary redundancies, retirement and not filling existing vacancies.

The announcement comes a month after the council signed an eight-year contract with computer giant IBM, which partly involves reviewing how savings can be made at County Hall.

Derrick Louis, councillor responsible for central services, said the changes were needed if the council was going to cope in the current economy, while making sure frontline services were protected.