Edinburgh Leisure has confirmed over 40 job losses in the wake of the pandemic, as the organisation "adapts and evolves".
Edinburgh Live reported in August last year that the coronavirus crisis had punched an estimated £10 million black hole into the charity's accounts.
Insiders warned the funding gap needed to be filled urgently if city residents are going to enjoy the same level of services that were available to them pre-lockdown.
At the time, Edinburgh Leisure, an arm’s length external organisation (ALEO) of Edinburgh City Council, were said to be in discussions with the council about its long-term survival strategy and representations had been made to the UK and Scottish Government for financial support.
It has now emerged that redundancies have taken place since October last year, with a source confirming to Edinburgh Live the most recent round of redundancies took place last month.
Some 43 Edinburgh Leisure employees have been made redundant in total, with the organisation revealing that changes to operations have resulted in "a requirement for less staff". They added that "many" staff members took voluntary redundancy.
An Edinburgh Leisure spokesperson said: “Like all organisations we have to adapt and evolve in response to changes and challenges in our operating environment and the pandemic has certainly required us to review and adapt the way we do business.
“Like so many services to support the safety of customers and staff, customers are now required to pre-book activities. And our venues have moved to cashless operations.
"We have also continued to introduce ‘easy access gates’ at a number of our venues - these allow customers to self-serve, avoid queues building up in reception areas and allow the reception staff to focus on customers who need more assistance to use our services. These improvements to customer service have resulted in a requirement for less staff.
“In the last financial year, we have had 43 redundancies, which happened between October 2020 and March 2021, with many individuals opting to take voluntary redundancy. Redundancy is always a last resort but for some people it suited them to leave rather than moving to a different post.
“While we have made some changes to operations, roles and staffing structures, the efficiencies mean our staff are available to help customers who need it, while the self-service element provides a swift and hassle-free welcome to our centres.”
From Monday, April 26, Edinburgh Leisure indoor venues can reopen for individual exercise. It is hoped that outdoor adult contact sport and indoor group exercise can restart on May 17, and indoor non-contact sport from early June, as advised in the Scottish Government’s Route Map.
