Senior Rotorua district councillors Glenys Searancke, Trevor Maxwell and Charles Sturt said they felt for staff who face losing their jobs in the coming weeks.
"I do not enjoy restructuring, this is the third one I have been involved with at council, but this was a big one," Mr Maxwell said.
"You see good people going and that's disappointing," he said.
"It doesn't affect just one person, but the whole family, so I wish all of them well for the future.
"But, it was sad for me during the election campaign that some people made this an issue.
"Whilst the council made a decision to reduce debt - it wasn't enough for some people - but when a decision is made you have to stand by it."
Mr Maxwell said the decision to reduce staff numbers was not made lightly.
"It certainly hasn't been rushed. That's not to say we can't look at always trying to be more cost effective and looking to improve services," he said.
Mrs Searancke said she felt change had to happen, but this situation was not exclusive to Rotorua.
"I think local government needs to rethink how they operate in future. But, I feel very deeply for those people who are going to miss out on a job, some have given very loyal service to us over the years.
"We don't know who they are just yet, but there's a very subdued atmosphere at the council right now.
"I've been there a long time and I know a lot of the staff.
"But, at the same time rates in Rotorua are high and our socio-economic situation is not the best, so we have to try and keep a lid on them [rates] somehow," she said.
Mr Sturt said councillors had got a clear steer from the community about how the council delivered its services.
"These are the unfortunate casualties of this review and it was long overdue.
"We need to do this smarter and more efficiently then we have been doing."
Mr Sturt said he would ensure there was not a drop in service levels at the council after the restructure.
"This will also negate the need to increase rates even more than they are," he said. "I have total sympathy with the staff concerned but I think this has been handled well by management."
