Bermuda Public Services Union president Kevin Grant has sought to distance himself from remarks he made in The Royal Gazette concerning possible job cuts in the Civil Service.On Friday, Mr Grant told this newspaper that he acknowledged that the service needed to be downsized — but that this should be done “pragmatically” and through “natural attrition”.But when questioned further, he accepted that, because of a shrinking economy, posts in the public sector which were once justified might not now be deemed unnecessary. He added that any recommendations for job cuts would have to be reviewed by the union before it took a position, saying that each case would have to be judged on its own merits.But in a message posted on the union’s website on Saturday, Mr Grant denied that he ever said the Civil Service should shed jobs.“By now you would have read or heard about today’s Royal Gazette article which inferred that I was promoting downsizing of the Civil Service,” Mr Grant said.“Let me categorically state that I never said or implied such a suggestion that goes against the mandate of this Union.“When the question was put to me that Government may be considering downsizing the Civil Service, I replied, ‘If Government felt the need to downsize that it should be done pragmatically through attrition and organisational reviews of Government Departments’.“I stated quite categorically that a lack of services would be detrimental to the economic recovery of the country and that public services specifically are needed.“I have never made comments to demoralise or denigrate my members in anyway. We all know that we are in some unfortunate times and I implore you to realise that in these times there will be those who will look to divide and conquer.”