SF Braces for Layoffs as Budget Ax Falls on Nonprofits and City Workers
The budget process is a short window in which all hell breaks loose. Working class folks get flipped upside down and shaken for their pennies, and billionaires and big corporations sit on the sidelines eating pimento cheese and tea sandwiches while laughing at us.
The good news is that it’ll all technically be over by July 1, 2025. But many cuts mean that some departments won’t really know how the chips may fall until the new fiscal year begins. That means the first quarter, from July to the end of September, is when most of the layoff notices will be revealed.
The Mayor’s budget is out, but boy has he made it hard to read between the lines. Mayor Lurie is allegedly terrified of looking bad so he’s hidden quite a few of the details. More information should come out starting next week during the budget hearings, where our Board of Supervisors will be quizzing department heads and others on exactly what the broad strokes mean.
Layoffs are Coming to San Francisco
Because of San Francisco’s big budget deficit, we know one thing is coming: Layoffs. The number of city jobs being cut vacillates. Although it’s been reported as 1400 jobs, it might be closer to 500 according to recent reporting by Mission Local. The reason for the discrepancy is that a lot of posted positions (which are in varying stages of the lengthy hiring process) will be pulled. So there’s budgeted roles that will disappear. Departments will do their best to move folks around because that’s what you do when you’re facing layoffs. Even if the SF Standard tried to paint looking after your staff as arcane in a recent (and frankly bizarre) op-ed.
If the number is closer to 500 city jobs, what will it look like for nonprofits who often rely on city funding? Historically the nonprofit sector sees city cuts at an amplified rate of 3-4x. In a recent meeting, the People’s Budget Coalition shared that they’re expecting up to a thousand nonprofit layoffs.
Are You At Risk of Getting Laid Off?
How do you figure out if your organization is at risk? Well, because the budget book is next to impossible to read, you might have to wait until the hearings to figure out what’s happening. Advocates are encouraging confused nonprofits and community-based organizations to reach out directly to the funding department you rely on. If you get your money from the Department of Public Works (DPW) or the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF), hop on that horn and see if you can get the lay of the land. If you get your money from Dreamkeepers or the Code Enforcement Outreach Program, hate to say it but you might be fucked.
When a layoff happens at the City level, you can turn to resources like the subreddit called SF City Workers. If it happens at your nonprofit, you might not get consistent information or resources about what to do next.
What To Do If You Get Laid Off
Here’s the important thing: if you get laid off, file for unemployment as soon as possible. It takes a long time to get that paperwork rolling once it’s in their system, so don’t hesitate.
It doesn’t really matter if you were disciplined for minor infractions in the past as long as it’s clear in your termination that you were laid off as a business decision. If you get fired, that’s a different story… So don’t steal shit from the office on your way out the door. You never know! At the federal level, folks were laid off and then called back just a few weeks later. But we don’t want to give you false hope. Things are going to be hella hard this fall.
Lurie cutting a lot right at a critical moment when federal support nets are failing, so the folks in our city are going to be hit harder than other places. When things are good, SF rides the high. When things are bad, they’re far worse here than elsewhere.
One final word: If you get laid off, let others know. Because of the secrecy at the mayoral level, the community is having to piece together information on its own. DM us any time – or pull a Lurie and use Signal if you’re worried others will read your messages.
Howdy! My name is Katy Atchison and I'm an Associate Editor for Broke-Ass Stuart.
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