For the second time this spring, the City of London has announced layoffs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A news release from city hall on Friday said about 190 seasonal temporary and casual employees have had their start dates pushed back or have been placed on temporary unpaid leave. Contracts for 31 student employees have been cancelled. The city also announced a freeze on hiring, with an exception for essential positions.
The staffing impacts are the result of "ongoing closures, program cancellations, and adjustments to City operations and services," the news release said. "With reductions in service delivery and modified day-to-day operations, the City has now reached a point where there is work that is either not possible or not required, which means additional workforce adjustments are necessary. This comes after financial impacts have been estimated at between $23 and $33 million. The City is working with Union leadership to minimize impact on employees."
Early last month, the city announced layoffs and deferred hirings of roughly 1,100 employees, including community centre staff, recreation/sports program and neighbourhood activities support workers, aquatics staff members, parks maintenance, golf course employees, as well as roads, water and sewers, and facilities seasonal staff.
“This is difficult, but COVID-19 has posed a significant financial challenge for London,” said City Manager Lynne Livingstone. “We’ve made every effort to make sure that as many employees as possible are working, but we’ve reached a point in this where it’s not possible or necessary, based on current operations.”
