Hundreds to Be Laid Off as Denver’s Progressive Agenda Faces $200M Deficit

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox 31

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver city and county employees will see layoff notifications during the week of Aug. 18, according to the mayor’s office, which cited budget woes.

“These are not easy days, and these are not easy decisions,” wrote Mayor Mike Johnston to the city and county employees in a letter sent Tuesday. “Every role in this city matters, and every person in those roles has contributed to our city in meaningful ways.”

The number of impacted employees was not shared. In May, the Denver Mayor’s Office said that city employees would experience furloughs in the face of a $50 million revenue gap and $200 million deficit. He also noted that the city had seen a 0.3% revenue growth, which is far below the previous 5% growth seen by the city before 2024.

“As I shared in March, the continual slowdown in the economy we are seeing locally and nationally has deeply affected the city budget, and we need to build a budget that fits within the revenues we have,” Johnston wrote to city employees on Tuesday.

Johnston said he is still committed to “protecting core city services and delivering on residents’ top priorities while preventing layoffs in every instance possible.”

The announcement also follows a vote by the Denver Career Services Board to eliminate the seniority-based layoff system in favor of a merit-based approach. At the time, no layoffs had been announced, but workers rallied to decry the then-proposed change to layoffs.

Johnston said the layoff notices will all be made within the one week beginning Aug. 18. Employees will have their last working day on the same day they are notified of their layoff, and then will be given 30 calendar days of paid administrative leave. During that time, salary and benefits, including time-off accruals, will still be received.

The official separation date will be 31 calendar days after the notification is received, the city said. Medical, dental and vision coverage will continue through Sept. 30 for separated employees.

City announces severance packages for August layoffs

The city outlined severance packages based on employees’ lengths of service with the city. The city also said that the severance will be in addition to the 30 days of paid administrative leave.

Length of Service	Severance
Post probation, less than 1 year	1 pay period (2 weeks of pay)
1 year to less than 5 years	2 pay periods (4 weeks of pay)
5 years to less than 15 years	3 pay periods (6 weeks of pay)
15 years or more	4 pay periods (8 weeks of pay)

After employees sign the severance agreement, they will receive the payment within 14 days after their employment officially ends. Employees who are on probation or who are retiring, as well as on-call employees, are not entitled to severance, the city noted.

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