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A hospital unit which treats patients with acute illnesses who require further rehab before they go home or into a care home will close its doors permanently over the next few weeks. It will affect in the region of 60 staff at Wesham Hospital in north-west England when compulsory redundancies and voluntary redundancies are implemented.

GMB national officer Brian Strutton claimed the size and speed of local council job cuts due to reduced central government funding could be unprecedented. The union said thousands of notices have already been issued to public sector workers saying their position is "at risk", and many more would soon be sent out.

The maker of popular snack brands such as Jammie Dodgers has identified a "challenging" environment as a reason for cutting 70 jobs. Burton’s Foods, which has sites nationwide, will consult with employees at its south Wales factory and said that the impending redundancies were "deeply regrettable".

A judicial review has been sought over Whitehall staff lay-off payouts, with union officials arguing that the government was breaching a European human rights convention. However, the union said civil servants stood to lose tens of thousands of pounds should the changes backed by the government go ahead.

Staff at a south coast council have been told that the cuts warned about in November will go ahead, meaning the loss of 250 jobs, a 5.4 per cent pay cut for all staff, as well as a host of other cost savings. Civic Centre bosses at Southampton City Council had already planned for a worst-case scenario of a £25m shortfall, meaning they can make up the difference, but only by enacting the harshest austerity measures.

The Exmoor Society, a local charity which works to protect and enhance the landscape at the famous park, has expresses worries over future job losses there.

Following a visit by Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang for four days to the UK, the future of the UK’s Grangemouth oil refinery has been secured along with thousands of jobs. The UK visit by Mr Li, who is tipped to be China’s next leader, is designed to promote trade and political links between the two countries. An agreement has been made with China’s energy giant.

A proposal that would see council employees lose money if they are sick has been criticised.

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps accused trade unions of exaggerating stories of job cuts for political purposes. Almost all local authorities have until the end of March if they want to cut resources by giving staff the legal minimum of notice. Mr Shapps said: "Employers are legally required to issue such notices when they restructure.

A full scoping study will be undertaken by February on whether Gwynedd and Anglesey councils can share services to save money in this era of public sector cutbacks. The Local Government Ministry said it was "absolutely not about merging authorities". The study will consider how far integration of major council services could go and what the savings would be.

A doubling-up of the number of orders it has received during the previous 12 months means one firm has bucked the economic trend and taken on more staff. While others have been laying off workers in the global downturn, Gloucestershire-based engineering company Renishaw has increased business in China and began recruiting staff again.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs may be at risk as councils will learn how much the funding they receive from central government will be cut over the next two years. Ministers will also reveal their plans to give local community groups greater control of some services from councils.