Staff at Aberdeen Sports Village have been informed their jobs are at risk because of rising costs.
Those who work at the centre have received an email notifying them of planned redundancies.
The reason behind the move is because of the challenging rise in utility costs, with heat, electricity and water charges surging more than 100% since April.
The company has estimated bills could reach £1.65 million this year.
In a letter seen by The Press and Journal, the chief executive shared plans to cut the equivalent of 14 full-time jobs.
Voluntary redundancy is being offered until July 5 and from then further details of roles at risk will be shared with employees.
‘A tough decision’
The letter, dated June 22, states: “As it stands, there is a requirement to reduce staffing head count by removing approximately 14 full-time equivalent positions from the staffing establishment, inclusive of any voluntary redundancies.
“What makes this announcement all the more difficult is that Aberdeen Sports Village continues to perform at a high level and in many ways, is doing better than ever, but the business case for this change is compelling and there is no going around it.
“If we were to do nothing and not change, the company would fail so as tough as this decision is, Aberdeen Sports Village must return to be a sustainable and viable company.”
Aberdeen Sports Village (ASV), owned by the council and Aberdeen University, first opened in 2009 with the aquatics centre added in early 2014.
Staff work throughout the facility, including the gym, indoor football pitches, athletic tracks and swimming pools.
News comes despite claims ASV ‘currently performs well’
Meetings were previously held with staff to inform them of changes to operations with “every area of the business” being subject to review.
The proposed redundancies have been described as the first of “significant changes” which must be made.
Duncan Sinclair, chief executive of ASV, said: “We hope to avoid any compulsory redundancies and have reached out to staff asking for interest in a voluntary redundancy package.
“Staff have been made aware since the latter end of 2022 through various internal communication channels that due to the challenges ASV faced with utility bills, we needed to change the way in which ASV operates. Every area of the business was reviewed and ultimately, because of this process we have been able to identify areas for cost reduction and therefore we can minimise the number of redundancies required.
Mr Sinclair added: “ASV currently performs well which makes this announcement even more difficult but, should ASV do nothing, it would fail, and we need to ensure ASV can return to being a sustainable and viable company and thrive in the future.”
