SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Mission Lays Off 8 Workers to Cut Costs

Five full-time and three part-time Mission San Juan Capistrano employees were laid off Thursday, a mission official announced.

The move to reduce the 60-member staff was blamed on the recession and increased costs of the 216-year-old mission’s rehabilitation project, said Brian McInerney, a mission spokesman.

Most of the laid-off employees worked in security, which will be turned over to a private firm, and one was employed in the gift shop, which closed Thursday, McInerney said.

“Donations are down, tourist income is down and we aren’t meeting the costs of the stabilization project,” he said. “We are also looking ahead at the next few months and we see an increased downturn in tourism in general because of the negative image Southern California is getting” because of the Los Angeles riots.

McInerney said the mission, which is run by the Diocese of Orange and does not release financial figures, is down 10% in income this year.

The mission has been hurt by the recent declaration of bankruptcy by Gray Line Bus Tours, which drops tourists off at the mission.

“Gray Line has been one of our largest customers,” McInerney said.

The reduced budgets of school districts have also meant “fewer field trips, which is a large source of our income,” he said.

He added that two bus trips for Los Angeles-area students on their way to the mission were canceled Thursday because of fears of tension in Los Angeles. Officials had feared reaction to court appearances by the suspects charged with beating truck driver Reginald Denny, whose videotaped attack was shown repeatedly and internationally during the recent riots.

The recession has also hit other Orange County destinations, bringing on “increased competition between us,” McInerney said.

Msgr. Paul M. Martin, pastor of the mission, issued a statement saying the former employees would be assisted with resumes, references and job searches.