More than 800 civil servants in Tonga have accepted a voluntary redundancy package which will cost the government nearly 11 million U.S. dollars.
The secretary for Finance, 'Aisake Eke, says 815 civil servants accepted the government deadline at the end of last week to take up the package which came with a bonus.
Matangi Tonga reports that the number is fewer than the government had hoped for in its attempt to reduce the country's oversized civil service.
Mr Eke says 90 people rejected the offer and 30 did not respond.
The government initially allocated nearly 14 million dollars but due to the lower numbers than expected, that amount has not been needed.
