The army has confirmed plans to make some of its professional photographers redundant in the wake of budget cuts, with the first due to go before Christmas.
The army employs frontline photographers who work alongside serving soldiers, as well as those employed by the army in a civilian capacity.
A source with knowledge of the cutbacks confirmed that the army plans to make three of its civilian photographers redundant, two before the end of the year.
Most, he said, will be on a ?voluntary? basis.
The source told Amateur Photographer there will also be cuts to photographers who work as part of the armed forces.
?We will certainly be losing some. Most redundancies will be over a four-year period,? he said.
Last year we revealed the army?s plan to slash two-thirds of its professional photographers and to cut all photographic training for 2011 in the wake of a huge cut to Britain’s defence budget.
The move would leave just 15 photographers from a total of 45 and is understood to have been stoutly resisted by the army?s photographic unit.
An army spokesperson said that the number of redundancies has yet to be decided: ?Everything is on the table at the moment. Decisions have yet to be announced,? she said.
Army photographers are the ?eyes and documenters of the military actions that shape our times?, according to the British Army website which adds: ?Often working under difficult conditions, their iconic imagery captures moments in history, and very often the very deepest of human emotions with vivid honesty and clarity, making their work some of the most sought-after.?
RELATED ARTICLE
