Less than 20 jobs will be lost at a busy Kent port in its present round of redundancies.

The Port of Dover, employer of hundreds of people from across East Kent, announced two weeks ago that it has launched an efficiency review and that job losses would follow.

At the time of the announcement, the port revealed no anticipated numbers but said the measure was to allow it to "operate as efficiently as possible whilst still delivering services and maintaining assets".

It said it would be briefing staff and their representatives on how the streamlining would be implemented.

Today, a Port of Dover spokesperson revealed less than a score of jobs would go and said: “We continue to work through this sensitive process with our staff and their representative bodies in a thorough and professional way.

"In seeking an outcome where we can balance the prevailing market conditions against the need to deliver our services, maintain our assets, perform our statutory duties and operate in a way that allows us to grow in the future, we have worked to minimise the impact on our staff whilst optimising the efficiency of the business.

"In doing so, we currently anticipate the number of positions being directly affected by the review to be less than 20.”

The positions affected will be Dover Harbour Board positions, not related to the new cargo terminal which is operated by Port of Dover Cargo Ltd.

Dover & Deal MP Natalie Elphicke held talks with Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister last Friday to discuss investment plans, traffic management and the Port's future jobs plan.

She said: “I am concerned to do all I can to safeguard jobs at the Port – and made that case when meeting with Port bosses.

“I look forward to the Port of Dover progressing its investment, growth and jobs plans at pace to ensure that they make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead."

It comes a month after a designated cargo hub opened at Dover Western Docks, part of the wider Dover Western Docks Revival Project (DWDR). It is planned the hub will equip the operation for import/export needs into the future.

READ MORE: All the breaking news in Dover and Deal