Nearly half of the Scottish Opera chorus will be made redundant
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Almost half of the Scottish Opera chorus will be made redundant under cuts agreed with union chiefs.
Fourteen of the company's 34 singers will lose their jobs this summer with the remaining 20 allowed to stay until June 2005.
The package was agreed between opera bosses and performers' union Equity, although the company still has to lose a further 54 posts.
The company has had to make the cuts to bring its debts under control.
As part of its ongoing restructuring plans, the company will perform no mainscale opera for nine months from next summer.
Months of turmoil
The moves follow months of turmoil, with the restructuring process due to be completed by next summer.
In total, 88 positions will be cut under the plans from the workforce of just over 200.
The debt-laden opera company had previously asked the Scottish Executive for extra funding to help it out of the red.
The company had been receiving £7.5m a year, but argued that it was too small a sum of money for a company of its size.
However, ministers said they would only continue to invest in the company subject to the management ensuring strong financial planning controls were in place.
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