City of Vaughan lays off 1,100 workers due to pandemic

CP24.com
August 12, 2020
Chris Harhalt

The City of Vaughan says it is temporarily laying off 1,100 workers due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The COVID-19 pandemic and declared State of Emergency in Vaughan and the Province of Ontario have impacted City services in a number of unexpected ways, including the temporary closure of City facilities to the public and the cancellation of some programs," a city spokesperson told CP24.

"Due to a shortage of work in some departments caused by these extraordinary circumstances, the City has come to the difficult but necessary decision to temporarily lay off approximately 1,100 employees."

Before the layoffs, Vaughan had 1,831 employees.

It is not clear how many of the layoffs are for part-time workers, but the move appears to impact  more than half of the city's workforce.

The city did not say which departments the layoffs would be drawn from or how long they might last.

"The City continues to offer all essential services, including fire and emergency response, waste collection, water/wastewater services, by-law and enforcement services, and the Access Vaughan contact centre," a spokesperson said.