Layoffs Still On The Table For 22K City Workers, Mayor Says

NEW YORK CITY — City workers shouldn't shake any worry about being part of potential 22,000 layoffs, Mayor Bill de Blasio again warned.

De Blasio on Tuesday said municipal unions continue to press state lawmakers to give New York City long-term borrowing authority to help plug billions of dollars leaking from its budget amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Those talks are ongoing but if they fail, de Blasio said he's legally required to balance the budget — and layoffs appear to be the only option left, he has maintained.

"We are not out of the woods at all," he said.

An Oct. 1 deadline looms, but it appears city employees facing layoff won't lose their jobs en masse that day. De Blasio said they'll have 30 days from the moment officials effectively say there's no other choice.

The update was prompted by a question from Rich Lamb, a reporter with WCBS. Bob Hennelly, a reporter with the Chief-Leader labor newspaper, followed by pointing out the layoff deadlines butt into the holidays.

"That would turn you into like a major Grinch," Hennelly said.

De Blasio said he didn't want to see anyone suffer.

"We're running out of options," he said. "Now, I do believe labor's working real hard, Bob, to help us in Albany and to come up with alternatives. So, I'm going to hold out hope that that's how we can solve this."