Glasgow City Council's director of social work, David Crawford will leave his £120,000-a-year post after 33 years in the sector, after taking one of the generous redundancy packages available to over-50s.

The 54-year-old joins several other service directors and scores of senior managers at the council in taking a lump sum, thought to be around £130,000, and enhanced pension payments.

Recent departures from the council have seen some officials leave with as much as £450,000. In total, 277 Scottish council officials last year received a six-figure financial package.

The council said such payoffs were necessary to bring down the overall wage bill, with savings required in recent years running into hundreds of millions.

It said the redundancies would pay for themselves within three years and that only attractive packages could encourage staff to leave.

The packages were first offered in 2010 as the council attempted to reduce its 23,000-strong workforce by around 4000 amid a squeeze on public finances.

According to the most recent figures, 37 local authority officials in Glasgow, 17 in Dumfries and Galloway, 18 in Renfrewshire, 15 in West Lothian and 14 each in Fife and Edinburgh all left with six-figure deals last year.

A spokesman for the council said: "All employees of the council over the age of 50 were eligible for the scheme and all were offered the same basic package."

The scheme was taken up by around 2600 employees.

Last night, sources said Mr Crawford would be "very very difficult to replace".

Wishing Mr Crawford all the best, Councillor Matt Kerr, executive member for social care, said: "I'd like to thank David for the years of hard work and dedication he has given to public service."