450 El Paso city employees officially receive their furlough notices

EL PASO, Texas -- Hundreds of thousands of Texans filed for unemployment within the past two weeks. This week, that number could grow by 450 El Pasoans.

That's how many city employees learned Tuesday that they are being furloughed. The city is calling the furloughs an unpaid leave of absence.

Employees arrived at the downtown Convention Center, where they received packets surrounding their benefits.

Chris Perez, a library worker, was stunned at what he was told when he walked into the center.

“Oh, there you go. We’re giving you this furlough. We’re not telling you exactly how long. We’re not telling you anything else. We’re giving you basic insurance,” Perez said, adding that dental and eye coverage is out of pocket.

The city will only pay health insurance for the furloughed employees until August 31st.

According to the city’s chief financial officer, Robert Cortinas, it's the employees who are unable to work from home who are being furloughed for up to a year.

“If it’s a year, that’s way too long. How am I supposed to do anything with this furlough. They might as well just lay us off at that point,” Perez said.

Cortinas said he expects some employees will be laid off as the city is expecting a $33 million shortfall due to the pandemic this fiscal year. And Cortinas expects that shortfall to double by next fiscal year, which starts in September.

For Perez, regardless what you call it, he feels like he's being fired.

“In a way I wanna say yes. Personally, I do feel like it. I see why some of this measure is, but not to the extent that they’re doing it right now,” said Perez.

Perez feels like the city is turning its back on the employees, and that they are not a priority.

Because he has family to take care of, Perez said he will likely look for another job while he waits for unemployment benefits.