London Underground has made clear that only managers and a handful of SAMFs may have the chance of voluntary severance when it makes its job cuts. CSAs will not, and neither will the vast majority of SAMFs, and neither will any other grades.

In a case of "one rule for managers, another for the rest of us", LU is confident that it can achieve its job cuts in the CSA and SAMF jobs without offering VS because it has held so many posts vacant, and because it plans to simply move you around and displace you to other stations.

So if any non-managerial staff were thinking that the job cuts plan offers them a way out of the company, then think again. We only have one way out - to fight the job cuts.

In London Underground's own words ...

• VS will only be available where required for business needs - at the company's discretion.
• The process used and criteria for allocation will follow previous restructuring processes.
• The following may be offered the opportunity to express a preference for VS: Centurion Managers, Line Standards Managers, Duty Managers, Centurion administrators and support managers and (limited number of) SAMFs.
• VS Preferences will be considered alongside the other preferences to give balanced business/individual needs

The second of these bullet points shows that where VS is paid, it will be at similar levels to those used last year for managers and admin staff (you can find a 'calculator' on the company's intranet) - not at the level of some of the more outlandish rumours that have circulated around some locations!