But chief Hendy says Crossrail could provide new roles for some redundant staff

The boss of Transport for London (TfL) has detailed a major restructure of the organisation designed to save 拢2.4bn over the next 10 years.

Peter Hendy, TfL commissioner, told staff on Friday that he plans to make a 鈥渘umber of changes to TfL's structure鈥 which will result in a 鈥渟ignificant reduction in jobs鈥 at the London transport directorate.

Hendy said these changes will be managed 鈥渁s much as possible鈥 through the removal of vacant roles and transfer of staff into roles previously filled by temporary staff. Managers will be expected to use in-house staff rather than external consultants.


DLR train at Poplar
The Docklands Light Railway, the planned extension of which to Barking was recently axed

The plans include the merging of a number of back-office systems and processes, including those of the former London Underground infrastructure company Metronet, which went into administration and was taken over by TfL in July last year.

The move follows the announcement in November by London mayor Boris Johnson of the capital's 10-year, 拢39bn transport strategy. This axed several major transport schemes promoted by former mayor Ken Livingstone, including plans for a tram along Oxford Street, an extension to the Docklands Light Railway to Barking and a new bridge over the Thames in east London.

However, Hendy also told TfL staff that the delivery of Crossrail will create a 鈥渟ignificant number of jobs鈥 and that as many staff as possible will be found new roles on that project.