Mississauga announces over 1,000 layoffs of part-time city employees

The City of Mississauga is temporarily laying off 1,100 part-time employees, Mayor Bonnie Crombie confirmed on Tuesday.

The various employees work at community centres, arenas, museums, The Living Arts Centre and Meadowvale theatre – all of which are shut down because of Peel Region’s “grey-lockdown” level status.

“This decision is especially difficult given the hard year we have all had. The City is facing significant financial pressures as a result of this second lockdown. In order to be fiscally responsible, we must take action to respond to the facility closures and their impact on our operations,” said Crombie.

“This is not where we wanted to be. But I truly believe that Mississauga can come together, right here and right now, to get this situation under control. I am again urging everyone to stay home expect when going out for the essentials, and to please limit their in-person contact to just their immediate households and essential supports,” added Crombie.

Many employees are expected to receive benefits through the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB).

“As the City had to enter a second lock-down in order to protect the health and safety of employees and residents, we made the difficult decision to lay off part time staff in non-essential services. I know that employees are under a lot of anxiety and stress, especially so close to the holiday season,” said Paul Mitcham, Chief Administrative Officer.

Mitcham said the layoffs are a result of city program cancellations and facility closures and not having available work for part-time employees during the shut-down of non-essential services.

The layoffs take effect on Monday, Dec. 7.