Civilian LAPD Staff, Transportation, and Sanitation Departments Among Hardest Hit
Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed city budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes plans to lay off nearly 1,650 municipal employees as Los Angeles grapples with a record-setting budget shortfall driven by escalating liability payouts, rising payroll costs, and a slowdown in revenue.
The $13.95 billion spending plan calls for the elimination of 1,647 positions across various departments, although sworn police officers and firefighters would not be affected. Civilian roles at the Los Angeles Police Department would be the most affected, with 403 proposed layoffs.
Transportation (262 positions), Sanitation (159), Street Services (130), and City Planning (114) round out the five departments facing the steepest personnel reductions. Other impacted departments include General Services (110 layoffs), Engineering (83), and Animal Services (62), with cuts also extending to the Zoo, Cultural Affairs, and several smaller agencies.
The mayor’s office cites multiple contributing factors, including a surge in city liability payouts to $300 million this fiscal year—triple the historical average of $100 million—and a $259 million increase in labor contract obligations. Coupled with underperforming revenues, these pressures have necessitated deep cuts, the mayor’s team says.
You can read the proposed budget here.
Although the mayor’s plan outlines specific departments and headcounts, the proposal is subject to change. The Los Angeles City Council now has 40 days to review and amend the budget before the mandatory approval deadline of June 1.
Residents are invited to weigh in during public budget hearings scheduled for April 25 at Van Nuys City Hall at 1:00 p.m. and April 28 at Los Angeles City Hall from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Controller Kenneth Mejia released a summary Monday afternoon detailing the scope of layoffs proposed in Mayor Karen Bass’s budget plan, which includes the potential elimination of 1,647 city positions amid a mounting financial crisis.
The layoffs, outlined in Bass’s $13.95 billion proposed spending plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year, are attributed to ballooning liability payouts, increased payroll expenses, and revenue shortfalls.
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who has warned for months of an impending budget crunch, shared the department-by-department breakdown on social media to raise public awareness.
Civilian employees at the Los Angeles Police Department would be the most affected under the proposal, with 403 layoffs. Other top-impacted departments include Transportation (262 layoffs), Sanitation (159), Street Services (130), and Planning (114). Cuts are also slated across various agencies, including General Services (110), Engineering (83), and Animal Services (62), among others. The other layoffs in other departments are:
Contract Admin: 31
Zoo: 31
Building & Safety: 23
Cultural Affairs: 14
Board of Public Works: 14
City Clerk: 12
Comm. Invest. for Families: 12
City Administrative Officer: 11
Department on Disability: 11
Civil, Human Rights & Equity: 8
Youth Development: 8
Aging: 6
Fire-Sworn: 5
Neighborhood Empowerment: 5
Housing: 4
Econ. & Workforce Development: 2
El Pueblo de Los Angeles: 1
