HUNDREDS of people have been made redundant from the National Trust across the UK, with the possibility of some in Somerset also being impacted.
The governing body of protected sites has several sites around Somerset including Dunster Castle and Water Mill, Lytes Cary Manor, Motacute House, and Barrington Court.
The organisation is not disclosing how many staff are affected at specific locations because, according to a spokesperson, its staffing structure "doesn't take into account county borders".
The spokesperson added: "There’s been a total reduction of around 500 full-time posts across the whole organisation, more than half of which are voluntary redundancies."
Last year, the National Trust said it wanted to find savings worth £26 million.
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Steve Thomas, deputy general secretary at the union Propsect, said it is "regrettable" the cuts have to be made.
He added: "Disappointingly, after a busy summer welcoming tourists and the British public to Britain’s historic venues many of our members are still facing compulsory redundancy.
“Our members are custodians of the country’s cultural, historic and natural heritage and cuts of this scale will inevitably have an impact on that mission.
“Prospect will be working with management to ensure that this process does indeed secure the future operation of the trust and the preservation of vital national heritage.
"We will continue to support members through what is a challenging time.”
