The council will cut the number of directors from six to four, and its heads of service from 29 to 19.

The number of managers in Human Resources will be slashed from 11 to five.

Kirklees plans to make 1,500 of its 11,200 non-school staff redundant over the next three years.

The purge comes as the council plans to cut its budget by 20 per cent to cope with a 20 per cent reduction in government funding expected over the next five years.

The initial round of job cuts is expected to save the council up to £2m.

Chief Executive Rob Vincent said a merger was planned for the department of regeneration with the department of environment, transport and property, to be phased in over two years.

He added: "It will be an enhanced process. This is designed to strengthen regeneration and over the next two years there will be two directors overseeing it."

Also merging are highways, street cleaning, grounds maintenance, refuse collection and community rangers, which will come under the heading Street Scene.

Organisation development will be merged with finance.

Mr Vincent said it had not yet been decided which individuals would go and which would stay.

Meanwhile, the council awaits the outcome of an offer of voluntary retirements for staff.

Mr Vincent added: "We have to go through the process of getting the right people into the right slots."

Council Leader Mehboob Khan said: "We are taking this strong and decisive action now because whoever wins the next general election there will be inevitable cuts in local council funding.

"By acting now, we are safeguarding future services we will be better prepared for operating in a more challenging financial climate and will emerge as a leaner and much more efficient organization.

"Early and decisive action will avoid potentially much deeper cuts in the future, and potentially much higher levels of council tax.

"It is not a matter of cutting costs and services to the bone, taking this action will allow us to be a more efficient organization in the future.

"We will do all we can to avoid compulsory redundancies, but it is inevitable that cuts in funding of the size we are expecting will mean a smaller workforce.

"I am determined that we will come out of this process as an organization which provides better value for money, and more responsive to local people."