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Draft Plan to Lay Off 1,000 City of L.A. Employees Surfaces
L.A. City Hall | Photo: sirimiri via LAist Featured Photos/Flickr
Amid the process of letting 2,400 city of Los Angeles employees retire early--a move to help save a dwindling city budget--a draft internal letter obtained by the Los Angeles Times indicates plans to sack at least 1,000 employees. "Revenues are significantly lower than original projections and we are prepared to make tough decisions, including layoffs and cuts in less-essential city services to our constituents," notes the letter, referring to tax revenues.The budget deficit, which has recently doubled to $200 million (it was over $400 million earlier this summer, then $100 million at the end of November), is expected to grow to $1 billion within a few years.
Other budget saving moves could include "privatizing city-owned parking garages, golf courses and airports in Van Nuys and Ontario," reported the Times. Another idea--not mentioned by the paper--that has been floated in the past has been to privatize parking meters, something the city of Chicago did in 2008, much to the disdain to many of its residents.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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