Winnipeg City Hall (FILE)
The City of Winnipeg is temporarily laying off hundreds of employees due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
The city says the layoffs will impact 674 non-permanent staff effective April 25.
The job losses come as the city recently closed its recreation centres, pools, arenas, and libraries, and suspended all programming due to the pandemic.
“COVID-19 is having a tremendous impact on our community and our economy, and the closure of City facilities has resulted in a significant reduction in our services,” said Mike Ruta, interim chief administrative officer.
“While we want to support our employees, we also need to ensure we are being responsible with taxpayers’ money. We cannot continue to pay employees’ salaries while facilities remain closed and community programs are not available.”
Ruta says as soon as it’s safe to reopen city-owned facilities and resume programming, the employees will be welcomed back to work.
“In the meantime, our staff in human resource services will work with employees impacted by this temporary lay-off to help them access any federal programs that may be available.”
