1200 jobs to go at Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence spokesman Andrej Cirtek announced on Monday that the ministry wants to reduce its number of employees by up to 1200 between 2008 and 2010. The job cuts are part of a planned streamlining of the military to ensure that the Czech Republic is better equipped to fulfil tasks ensuing from its membership of NATO, the EU and the UN. Cirtek added, however, that it was too early to specify which areas of the military would be affected by the job cuts. The ministry currently employs 25,000 career soldiers and 20,000 civilian personnel.