Santa Barbara’s City Hall Sends Out Hundreds of Layoff Notices
Hourly Workers Get Pink-Slipped in Response to COVID-19
Hundreds of hourly employees who work for Santa Barbara’s City Hall — or were about to — will now be joining the 3.3 million Americans already filing for jobless benefits after layoff notices were sent out on Friday. Like most major employers, City Hall is experiencing a violent reduction of revenues as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, and this wave of layoffs is no doubt only the first of many shoes to drop.
Mayor Cathy Murillo confirmed the layoff notices went out, stating, “Our employees are precious to us. I’m really sorry to say we have to take this kind of action.” She added, “This is an unprecedented kind of disaster.”
Parking kiosk attendants personify the most obvious and emblematic of the city’s hourly workforce, and they will be discontinued. City Hall is no longer charging for parking. Gone as well will be all the many workers hired every summer for a myriad of Parks and Recreation programs.
