Another 9,000 city employees will be furloughed, saving the city $21 million, in a bid to balance the budget, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday.
The five-day furlough will start in October and last through March and will affect all managerial employees and non-union workers at city agencies.
“It has real human consequences but it is necessary,” de Blasio said at his daily press briefing. “We need to keep finding savings to keep bridging us to give us a chance to get something better than layoffs. No one wants to see layoffs, but unfortunately they’re still on the table.”
Last week, the mayor announced he and nearly 500 mayor’s office employees would take five days of unpaid leave to get closer to plugging the $1 billion shortfall to balance the 2021 budget.
Hizzoner has repeatedly implored Washington for a federal bailout amid the coronavirus crisis, which has caused the city to plunge into a $9 billion hole, thanks to lost tax revenue. De Blasio has also unsuccessfully pushed for a long-term borrowing plan from Albany.
Both have suggested he instead tighten the city’s fiscal belt with a bloated $88 billion budget.