The City of London has announced mass layoffs due to ongoing program cancellations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roughly 1,100 casual and seasonal employees are affected, city officials said on Monday.
For 300 seasonal workers, their start dates have been deferred, while another 800 casual employees have been placed on an unpaid emergency leave.
“This is a difficult decision, but in these times, it’s the right decision,” City Manager Lynne Livingstone said in a statement. “This is typically when we are welcoming our seasonal staff to roles across the city, and they are an important part of our organization. Unfortunately, while we’re at minimal operations and delivering essential services only, we have no choice but to delay start dates and move to temporary leaves.”
The seasonal and casual staff affected include 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.
City officials did not indicate when the workers may be recalled, indicating the "uncertainty" of the COVID-19 pandemic makes it difficult to determine.
The city has been offering only essential services to the public since March 17, the same day the province declared a state of emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.