HUNDREDS of soldiers serving in Hong Kong will learn in the next fortnight if they have lost their jobs in the final phase of British armed forces cuts and the garrison phase-out.
Next Thursday, British soldiers in Hong Kong will each learn their fate as the third and final phase of the Ministry of Defence Options For Change plan is announced.
Then a week on Monday, four days after the Options For Change announcement, more than half the 1,000 local soldiers of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps (HKMSC) will be served with redundancy notices as part of the run-down of the Garrison up to the Chinese takeover in 1997.
The phase-out will see the size of the Garrison reduced from about 8,000 to 3,000 by the beginning of next year.
Only 407 HKMSC soldiers, all local Hong Kong Chinese who serve as members of the British Army in 24 different units including military police, drivers and dog handlers, have applied for voluntary redundancy, leaving about 100 of the remaining 600 facing early ejection.
The corp's Commandant, Colonel Nick Southward said the 100 would be found by a combination of compulsory redundancies and natural wastage up to March 31 next year when the new 500 manning level has to be achieved. The reduced corps is expected to remain until the handover.