The Halifax Regional Municipality is axing nearly one-third of its jobs and cancelling summer programs as the city grapples with significant shortfalls from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Mike Savage says the city was in a strong fiscal position before the pandemic hit, but the recovery will be slow. The city is also dealing with the loss of transit fares and any revenue that came from its municipal programs. The city announced it has laid off — or will not be rehiring — 1,480 employees in all. Of those, 900 are layoffs, but the city says it hopes to rehire those employees as soon as possible.

Source: CBC News April 15, 2020 14:44 UTC