At total of 58 full-time positions will be axed in the north of the state, the first of almost 1400 that will go across rural and regional NSW.

The company has revealed the affected depots include Tamworth, Gunnedah, Quirindi, Moree, Narrabri, Glen Innes, Inverell, Tenterfield, Armidale, Barraba, Guyra and Walcha.

Staff have been told that a final meeting of the Redundancy Consultative Committee will be held next Tuesday, before employees are notified on September 9 and 10.

Union representatives described the loss of the 58 positions as a “spill and fill” process, whereby staff would reapply for the remaining jobs. 

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and United Services Union, which represents Essential Energy workers, said there were alternatives to the deep job cuts.

“Unions have put forward a range of options, including for job sharing arrangements and other efficiencies, that could drastically reduce the number of local people who will lose their jobs,” ETU deputy secretary Neville Betts said.

“Allowed to continue, these huge staffing reductions will result in the loss of specialist skills and experiences from these communities, resulting in chronic future skills shortages, not to mention network reliability and safety concerns.”

He said the community needed to realise these 58 jobs were “just the beginning”. 

“Essential Energy management have told unions that they already know the names and location for the remaining 1200 job losses that are yet to be announced and we believe more than 300 of these will come from the north and west of the state,” Mr Betts said.