During the last five years Lothian councils have paid out £41m in redundancy payments, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
The Scotsman report:
MORE than £41 million of public money has been paid out by Lothian councils, colleges, universities and the police to shed more than 3500 staff over the past five years.
The massive cash outlay to reduce the public sector workforce through redundancies, early retirement and severance packages was today criticised by Labour, who said the Scottish Government should be investing in more jobs instead of forcing people out of employment.
The SNP blamed cuts from Westminster.