City of Oakland laying off around 100 workers amid $129M+ deficit

The outside view of the front of Oakland City Hall on a sunny day on April 9, 2021, in Oakland, Calif. (Samantha Laurey/Bay City News)

OAKLAND, Calif. - Nearly 100 city workers will be bumped or laid off as the City of Oakland works to close a multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

Oakland's City Administrator Jestin Johnson shared a letter with employees about the "hard but necessary" steps the city will take to balance its budget amid a nearly $130 million shortfall.

The $129.79 million deficit for 2024-25 started with a negative balance of $21.82 million from the previous 2023-24 fiscal year.

The positions that are being laid off were based on input from departmental leaders as they looked at all positions on a case-by-case basis.

Impacted employees were contacted Friday afternoon about the news.

"This is a hard but necessary step for our organization… Truthfully, there remain more hard choices ahead of us as we head into the upcoming biennial budget process," Johnson said.

Officials called the steps unfortunate and difficult, but said the city is moving toward long-term financial stability that Oakland desperately needs.

By the numbers:

Most of the cuts are coming to the Oakland Public Works Department, with over two dozen positions being cut. Additionally, 19 positions are being cut from the Oakland Police Department, though it's unclear if the positions include officers.

Earlier in the month, two fire stations were shut down in temporary closures to last six months to help close the deficit, much to the chagrin of neighbors.