Palmdale to Lay Off 12 City Employees
Palmdale, one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation during the past decade, announced Friday that it is laying off 12 employees and eliminating eight vacant jobs because of the recession and the related slowdown in local home building.
City officials said the cutbacks should save $771,760 for the coming year and reduce the city’s full-time work force to 196. The layoffs take effect immediately and are the first in the memory of current officials in the 29-year-old Antelope Valley city.
The layoffs will affect mostly full-time technical and professional employees in the city’s planning, public works, building and safety and engineering departments, where business has slowed because of the downturn in construction activity.
The announcement came as Palmdale officials prepared to release on Tuesday the city’s proposed budget for the coming year. Officials in the neighboring city of Lancaster said they, like Palmdale, have been holding jobs vacant but do not expect any layoffs this year.
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