JOB losses are not being ruled out at the Department of Home Affairs.
The department has said "significant changes" will take place in order to balance the budget for 2011/12 and said there is a "staff surplus".
It has confirmed it cannot rule out redundancies.
A statement from the department said: "As a consequence of the reduction to the Island's income from the VAT sharing agreement, the department was asked to find substantial further cost savings for the next financial year.
"In recent years the department has managed to accommodate cost savings by top-slicing budget lines and thereby reducing areas of discretionary spending such as travel, training, water, equipment, overtime etc.
"Additionally, savings have been achieved through a more robust approach to procurement.
"However, given the level of savings that have already been incorporated into previous budgets it has not proved possible to implement further cuts to discretionary spending alone.
"As a result, it has been necessary to find the savings in staff costs.
"The primary focus of the Department of Home Affairs remains to ensure the best possible level of public safety and the budgetary strategy has been framed to prioritise the protection of front-line services, i.e.: Police, Fire, Prison, Probation, Communications.
"The impact is that it has been necessary to review critically the roles and tasks fulfilled by back-office staff and support functions to streamline the work undertaken. This has created a situation where there is a staff surplus within the department.
"Senior managers in the department are working with staff on this sensitive issue to consult on the changes and discuss the different options open to them.
"The Department is working hard to try and avoid redundancies but these cannot be ruled out at the moment.
"The trade unions have been informed about the changes and will be offered further opportunities to discuss matters as the project progresses."
Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw MHK said: "The department recognises the contribution of staff affected by these changes to its operations over many years and is striving to achieve the best outcome for colleagues in these difficult circumstances.
"We have involved staff representatives in this process as we are identifying options and moving forward. We are also very mindful of the chief minister's strategy to keep redundancy as a last possible resort."
The initiative is part of the wider Transforming Government programme which is continuing to identify ways to improve service delivery and support the five-year strategy to rebalance the budget following the reduction in the Isle of Man's share of VAT revenue.
The department said it is unable to provide further details as the department's budget is not finalised until approved by Tynwald on February 15.
