The Bermuda Tourism Authority is to get a human resources audit in the wake of redundancies at the quango, it was revealed last night.

A source close to the situation said Jamahl Simmons, the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, wanted a new national tourism plan to be finished before any restructuring or job losses happened.

The source added: “The ministry has assigned a person to conduct a human resources audit at the BTA.

“It is expected that the new national tourism plan will be worked on this year and the minister is said to be very reluctant to allow such changes in advance of it being completed.”

The BTA said last week that restructuring had resulted in some staff losing their jobs.

But a spokesman said that the overall number of posts was expected to increase as a result of the changes.

The source added that the audit will be an overview of the BTA’s hiring, training and promotional practices and is intended to ensure openness and fairness.

Mr Simmons was said to be opposed to the job losses, according to some reports, but he has not made any public comment.

BTA chief executive Kevin Dallas said the restructure was about it being “agile, responsive to market needs, and continuously finding ways to improve the country’s return on investment”.