UNION leaders claimed today that Network Rail - which employs hundreds of people in York - is set to announce 2,500 job losses.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union said the nationwide job cuts will be part of a move aimed at cutting costs over the next few years and will be phased until 2006.

It said the losses will be spread across the company, which has more than 14,000 workers across the country.

Network Rail would not confirm the job cuts, but admitted that details of an efficiency programme will be announced early next week.

"Driving down costs and improving performance are Network Rail's main focus," said a spokesman.

"Head count is one area that we are looking at as part of our efficiency improvement programme and we hope to release more details early next week."

RMT York organiser Stan Herschel said it was essential that the losses did not affect workers such as signallers, which had already been "pretty well cut to the bone." He did not know how badly York would be hit by job losses.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said job cuts on such a big scale would be "obscene", adding: "We will resist any compulsory redundancies, with industrial action if necessary."

Today's revelation plunged the not-for-profit company into a fresh controversy following a row earlier this week about executive pay.

Unions, passenger groups and politicians reacted with anger after it was revealed that directors received bonus payments totalling £1.8 million last year, even though trains were still running late.

No performance-related bonuses were paid to executives at Network Rail, which succeeded Railtrack after it went into administration last year, but a number of "retention" payments were made.

Updated: 10:32 Friday, June 27, 2003