Adelaide City Council cuts balloon to 400 after new round of coronavirus lay-offs
The total number of jobs lost at Adelaide City Council will balloon to 400 after another harsh round of cutbacks.
City
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Adelaide City Council has axed more than 80 full-time positions, taking the total number of job losses since the start of the pandemic to more than 400.
Chief executive Mark Goldstone said the cuts were part of a bid to deliver $20m in operational savings demanded by elected members in April.
Mr Goldstone and senior management spent Monday delivering the news to the council’s 800-strong full-time workforce, which had been awaiting details of a restructure.
He insisted the “average ratepayer” would not notice any difference in service delivery as a result of the cuts.
“As an executive we have been working through ways to find $20m in savings,” he said.
“That’s been achieved in a number of ways but unfortunately, and it’s not something we can deny, there are a number of impacted staff.”
Mr Goldstone said the council’s finances were severely affected when the Adelaide CBD was effectively shut down by the COVID-19 virus in March.
The council had not increased its rate in the dollar for seven years before the pandemic, which saw activity in the city plummet as office staff worked from home.
Public facilities including the Adelaide Aquatic Centre and libraries were closed, while retail and hospitality businesses shut their doors.
Rate revenue fell dramatically, income from carparking dwindled and council fees and charges were waived.
The council responded by getting rid of 200 positions occupied by casual and temporarily employees.
Council management then were ordered by the dominant Team Adelaide faction to find $20 million in operational savings before June next year.
Mr Goldstone said this led to 17 staff leaving in August.
“This was the first phase of the organisational restructure to deliver the operational savings, he said.
“What is happening now is the second phase, which involves 235 roles. For most, this means their role has changed and they move to a new area. It doesn’t mean they will be departing.
“The total number of full-time equivalent positions which will be reduced is 84, of which 50 are currently vacant because of attrition and other factors.
“The total number of people we are talking about leaving the organisation is 33.”
Mr Goldstone said the council also had undertaken a forensic examination of its operational expenditure to identify further savings.
“We have gone through our spending line by line to ensure we are set up for success in the difficult period which lies ahead,” he said.
“We have stripped out opportunity for wastage and, at this stage, we have identified a total of $18 million in operational savings.
“We still have a challenge to find a further $2 million.”
Asked if this would involve more job cuts, Mr Goldstone said council management would be consulting with elected members to identify what cuts to services could be made.
“At this stage, the savings which have been identified are not going to impact on service delivery,” he said. “The average ratepayer will not notice any difference.”
Mr Goldstone said the restructure – overseen by senior council management – had determined $3.9 million could be saved in fees paid for consultants, contractors, materials and staff training and development.
The staff cuts would deliver another $14.1 million – with $14.7 million allocated in this year’s budget for redundancy packages.
Mr Goldstone said the impending job losses affected all parts of the council.
“There will be staff that we have identified across the organisation,” he said.
“There is no one particular area.”
Under the council’s enterprise bargaining agreement, those staff who meet the criteria are entitled to a maximum of two years’ salary.
Australian Services Union campaigner Abby Spencer said it “defies belief” the council would cut so many jobs during a global pandemic.
“Local government, like all forms of government, should be leading the recession recovery and creating jobs, not cutting them,” he said.
Ms Spencer said council services would suffer because of the cuts.
“Many of our members who remain at council are now being asked to do the job of multiple people and residents cannot expect the same level of service in our city,” he said.
“We have seen significant cuts to community centres, business development, transport planning, city cleaning and beautification. These cuts will see a dramatic drop in the liveability and accessibility of our city.”
Ms Spencer said it was “ongoing financial mismanagement” by Team Adelaide which had led to the job cuts.
