A LEADING conservation charity is looking to cut its Scotland staff and centralise operations in England, The National has been told.
Concerned staff at the RSPB (the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) alleged that a recently announced restructuring could see RSPB Scotland face “quite significant” cuts and that staff had been told that there would be job losses.
Another staff member said that the proposed changes “appear to consolidate a lot of the Scotland operation into the UK operation”.
The RSPB previously told Civil Society that the aim of the restructuring was to reduce costs by 7%. However, staff told The National that the Scotland team was facing cuts of significantly more than that.
Anne McCall, who had been with the RSPB for 28 years and director of RSPB Scotland for nine, recently confirmed plans to leave to join the National Trust for Scotland. One member of staff claimed she was “not particularly pleased” with the restructuring proposals.
The National was told that she may not be replaced, and no job posting for a new RSPB Scotland director has yet been posted.
However, an RSPB spokesperson said they would “begin recruiting for the role of director of RSPB Scotland shortly”.
RSPB Scotland manages over 72,500 hectares of land across more than 75 reserves, making up around half of the charity’s total UK land holding.
Last week, the RSPB bought two further islands off Scotland’s east coast – Bass Rock and Craigleith islands in the Firth of Forth – with the support of £586,000 in public money channelled through the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Earlier in June, the RSPB confirmed plans to restructure to save costs, but said that the reserves would not be part of the reorganisation. “Having recently completed a review of our nature reserve operations, we don’t anticipate making further changes to this area,” a statement said.
The RSPB announcement also paved the way for job cuts, saying: “Staffing is our largest cost, and we also face ongoing external pressures in this area: alongside general inflation and the 6.7% rise in the National Living Wage for 2026, recent increases in employer National Insurance contributions have added around £2 million to our annual wage bill.
“That’s why the RSPB is now looking at how we operate beyond our nature reserves network – simplifying our structures and reducing our costs, so more of our resources flow directly to saving species and restoring landscapes, both on our nature reserves and beyond.”
A formal consultation on proposed changes has been opened with staff, and the charity said it cannot comment on any plans while it is ongoing.
An RSPB spokesperson said: “Noting our legal obligations, we can’t comment on specific proposals during the consultation period.
“What we can say is that we are committed to remaining strategically led and locally delivered as an organisation, providing place-based delivery in all four countries of the UK and internationally.
“We will also continue to deliver critical conservation work across our 78 nature reserves in Scotland, and having completed a review of our nature reserve operations around a year ago, we don’t anticipate making any further changes at these sites.”
