Dundee City Council has shed dozens of staff through a voluntary redundancy scheme.
This year, 73 employees have taken payouts from the local authority to leave their roles early – at a cost to the taxpayer of nearly £750,000.
Last year, there were just 16 employees who left their positions through a voluntary redundancy scheme, receiving a total of £156,945 in payouts.
It follows efforts by the local authority to reduce its long-term costs in the face of huge cuts to its budget.
But fears have been raised over the impact of losing so many staff.
Jim McFarlane of union Unison, said: “Not only are we losing a wealth of knowledge and expertise but there is considerable pressure left on those employees still in post.
“The situation is going to continue to get worse and further cuts proposed will result in a massive loss of expertise to the council.”
Councillor Kevin Keenan, leader of the opposition Labour group on the council, said: “I’m surprised that the figure is not higher because of the budgets being forced on the council.
“However, the figures give cause for concern.
“These redundancies mean that the council is continuing to lose a great deal of expertise.
“There is very little forward planning and I have serious concerns about the future. We are losing council staff in various fields, including education.”
A spokesman for the council said: “The city council has operated voluntary early retirement or voluntary redundancy schemes for all staff, except teachers who have their own scheme, which were approved as part of the budget setting process.”