New Orleans – Mayor C. Ray Nagin said Tuesday the city is laying off as many as 3,000 employees – or about half its workforce – because of the financial damage inflicted on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin announced with “great sadness” that he had been unable to find the money to keep the workers on the payroll.
He said only nonessential workers will be laid off and that no firefighters or police will be among those let go.
“I wish I didn’t have to do this. I wish we had the money, the resources to keep these people,” Nagin said.
“The problem … is we have no revenue streams.”
Nagin described the layoffs as “pretty permanent” and said the city will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to notify municipal employees who fled the city in the aftermath of Katrina, which struck more than five weeks ago.
The mayor said the move will save about $5 million to $8 million of the city’s monthly payroll of $20 million.
The layoffs will take place over the next two weeks.
“We talked to local banks and other financial institutions, and we are just not able to put together the financing necessary to continue to maintain City Hall’s staffing at its current levels,” Nagin said.
