THE AXE is expected to fall heavily at the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), which has a staff complement of 838 strong.

A senior executive at one of the largest public bodies in the country told members of a parliamentary oversight committee on Wednesday that significant cuts were coming at the corporation.

Donald Hamilton, deputy general manager of the UDC, said the corporation was taking steps to implement what he described as an "optimisation programme".

He said, in the last five months, the UDC has been moving in the direction of curtailing its losses.

The entity reduced its operational losses by 50 per cent, which converts into more than $200 million in the last five months.

Hamilton told the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee that the corporation had put in place a comprehensive team to identify cost-saving items. "We are also in the process of an optimisation programme, so we are looking at significant reduction in staff," Hamilton reported.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com