The UK Competition and Markets Authority plans to cut staff numbers by around 10 per cent following a “budgeting error”, as the agency reels from the sacking of its government seat.

Chief executive Sarah Cardell told staff at a town-hall meeting in December that the CMA had begun a voluntary exit procedure to cut staff numbers by around 100 due to overspending, according to people familiar with the matter.

Cardell called the overspending a “budgeting error”, the people said. the CMA has a total headcount of around 1,200 and its budget from the Treasury for this year is £139mn.

At another town hall meeting Monday, Cardell said some areas of the agency, such as mergers and the new digital market unit, would be protected from cuts, the people said.

The watchdog is seeking to avoid forced job cuts by starting voluntary layoffs, one of the people added.

The cuts come as the regulator finds itself in the crosshairs of the Labor government, which has CMA chair Marcus Bokkerink was fired this week by ministers after complaints from businesses about the regulator.

Ministers want to send a signal to the CMA and other independent regulators that the government wants to prioritize growth, according to officials.

Bokkerink’s exit has led antitrust lawyers and lobbyists to question whether the CMA is now take a slow approach towards Big Tech. Bokkerink has been replaced in the interim by former Amazon UK head Doug Gurr.

At a staff meeting Thursday, Cardell sought to reassure employees that they needn’t worry about Bokkerink’s departure and that the government has given assurances of its confidence in the agency, one of the people said.

While the staff exit scheme was in train before Bokkerink’s dismissal, some employees are worried that because of the government’s displeasure with the agency there may be further reductions in staff.

The number of staff at the antitrust regulator has increased significantly over the past eight years from about 600 staff in 2017 to 1,185 by October 2024, according to most recent disclosure.

CMA is expanding its presence from London to several hubs across the UK. Part of the development is its range of powers under the new digital markets regime, which began this month, and led to the creation of the agency’s digital markets unit to implement it.

Under the new regime, the CMA will designate several Big Tech companies with a large presence in certain digital markets with a “strategic market situation” and force them to comply with certain rules of conduct.

Google and Apple became the first companies this month to face investigations to determine whether they should be granted the status.

The CMA said: “This is a historic budget issue that has been addressed quickly and appropriately. The CMA is fully focused on its priorities for the coming year including working with the government and the new an interim chair to help develop.

The Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.