Los Angeles Lays Off 3,000 To Help Balance Budget

LOS ANGELES -The Los Angeles City Council has voted to eliminate 3,000 city jobs to balance the budget.

The decision on Thursday comes a day after a major credit-rating agency issued a gloomy outlook for the city’s financial situation.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its opinion of the city’s finances from “stable” to “negative” because the city has delayed addressing its $212 million budget deficit.

The eliminations come on top of the 1,000 job cuts ordered by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa last week.

Villaraigosa says the city needs to eliminate the budget deficit by July 1 and close a $484 million gap in next year’s budget. The mayor has suggested that layoffs can be minimized if city workers agree to pay cuts.