El Paso city workers fear layoffs due to possible $100 million budget shortfall
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso city employees are concerned the coronavirus pandemic could cost them their jobs as the city could soon be facing as much as a $100 million budget shortfall.
Employees received a memo last week saying salaries would be slashed, but now many say they fear furloughs and layoffs could be next.
The city of El Paso is the largest employer in the city with around 6,000 employees, with a fair number of them working form home as most city offices are closed.
Already, some city library employees are being furloughed and will collect unemployment as libraries are shut down.
Other workers who fall under that same category, services that are closed due to the pandemic and cannot work from home, worry their jobs could be cut too to help the city save money.
“It would actually be more beneficial for them to, actually be on a furlough, being able to collect unemployment, and then possibly, or potentially come back to the city in some given time or point in the future,” contends city Chief Financial Officer Robert Cortinas.
There is already hiring freeze and Cortinas said all other options are on the table as the city grapples with the budget crisis. But he adds that for now, the city’s contingency fund is healthy, in essence meaning that the city is not broke.
City officials do believe, though, that the city will have a $33 million budget shortfall this fiscal year, with Mayor Dee Margo telling ABC-7 that the figure could be as high as $100 million when the new fiscal year starts in September.
