Metro

De Blasio delays layoffs of 22,000 NYC workers in hopes of securing state loan

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will delay sending pink slips to 22,000 municipal employees in the hopes of securing a $5 billion loan from the state government.

“Today was the day when layoff notices were going to be sent out,” de Blasio said during a City Hall press briefing Monday.

“Now our municipal labor unions have come to me in the last few days and asked for more time to see if they can resolve this issue. They’ve asked for an opportunity to convince the state legislature to reconvene immediately to address long-term borrowing.

“What I’ve said to our colleagues in the municipal labor movement is we will hold but it will be on a day to day basis,” de Blasio said.

“No one wants to see a single layoff but we have to address our fiscal crisis. So I am hoping this pause will lead to more progress in Albany because of the intense commitment to labor to getting this done,” he added.

One state legislative source gave Hizzoner a reason to be hopeful.

“The legislature will be back soon and there is definitely some movement on borrowing by the city, but [we] need to make sure that it is done in the proper way, the source said, putting a mid-September timeline on the return.

De Blasio announced the potential cuts in June, saying they were necessary to create $1 billion in savings needed to balance the budget with the Big Apple’s coronavirus-starved coffers.

Mayor Bill de Blasio
Mayor Bill de BlasioJames Messerschmidt

After the federal government failed to provide another stimulus to help cities struggling from the pandemic, de Blasio turned to Albany to pass a measure that would let New York City borrow $5 billion.

The state Senate’s been resistant to the plan, citing de Blasio’s failure to provide details of his plan or personally lobby for it.

One labor insider told The Post Monday union leaders were ticked off at de Blasio for threatening layoffs while they’ve been lobbying the governor and state lawmakers since June to get authorization for the loan.

“Don’t gouge our eyes out while we’re trying to help you get financing,” a union official fumed.

“It’s already an uphill battle because no one likes de Blasio.”

The unions have also asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to support legislation to offer an early retirement package to woo older workers off the payroll as an alternative to layoffs.