DWF has laid off 38 support staff in its central services team after a redundancy consultation affecting more than 140 people.

The job losses, which come after the firm completed its pre-pack takeover of Cobbetts last month, cover a mix of both longer-term DWF staff and those recently brought in from the failed firm.

DWF confirmed it has redeployed 83 members of staff into other areas of the business, while a further 21 are currently under consideration for other roles.

In a statement, the firm said: "Further to the announcement last month that it had acquired Cobbetts, DWF has now confirmed that as a result of the move, 38 roles within the now combined central services teams are to be made redundant. The announcement follows the consultation period, which concluded on 22 March.

"Inevitably with an acquisition of this size and nature there was an element of overlap of roles within central services. As a result, over 140 people, made up of both DWF and the legacy Cobbetts firm, were initially placed at risk of redundancy. However, as of Friday 22 March, 83 have now been placed into roles, 21 are still in the selection process and 38 roles have been confirmed as redundant.

"However, DWF continues to grow and currently has over 40 vacancies across the firm and all individuals confirmed as at risk have been encouraged to apply for these positions, where such roles meet their career aspirations. For those leaving the business DWF has a dedicated team providing a series of career workshops and continued individual support."

The redundancies come after a spurt of mergers for DWF over the last 18 months, which have seen it grow from a £102m firm to a size of around £200m, with total headcount now topping 2,500.

The Cobbetts acquisition followed earlier mergers with Fishburns, Biggart Baillie, Buller Jeffries and Crutes in an expansion drive which could see the expansive firm enter the UK top 20.

A number of UK law firms have made job cuts so far this year, including DLA Piper, Eversheds, Olswang, Clyde & Co, CMS Cameron McKenna and Farrers.