Auckland Council budget: 23 staff laid off - cuts of more than 340 ahead

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Mayor Phil Goff delivers the Auckland Council's emergency budget (July 2020).

Auckland Council has laid off 23 staff in the past three months and expects a reduction of a further 340 or more by the end of the financial year.

The council is in the middle of negotiating “change proposals” with staff in a budget-cutting move to slice $120 million from its running costs, due to the impact of Covid-19.

In an update to the Finance and Performance committee, management said redundancies in the September quarter had cost $1.1m.

The actual number of staff to go by mid-2021 could be higher than the 341 figure which measures staff in “full time equivalents” (FTE), which could be two or three part-timers in each FTE count.

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Auckland Council expects staff numbers to fall to 6,000 by mid-2021

No details have yet been released on where staff will be cut, but the committee report describes some areas as project management, learning and development, grants staff, and change management.

The council said it had made “organisational” savings of $78m, 65 per cent of the $120m target.

At the council agency Auckland Transport, more than 100 staff face uncertainty with positions scrapped and a smaller number of roles created, which staff, and in some cases outsiders, can apply for.

Councillors will be given a more up-to-date view of the cost-cutting, at Thursday’s committee meeting.

Auckland Council re-cast its draft budget as an “Emergency Budget” based on an expected revenue hit of $450m due to Covid-19.

Smaller savings towards the target include the sale of 55 vehicles, cutting staff overtime and some allowances, and tweaks to opening hours and costs such as couriers.

Auckland Council’s staffing has fallen from 6470 FTEs in June 2020, to 6341 at the end of September, and was projected to be 6000 by June 2021, due to redunancy or attrition.

In addition to budget reductions in other council agencies, two council-controlled organisations are being merged, Regional Facilities Auckland and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED).

No information has yet been provided on the shape and structure of the new merged body.