New Orleans City Hall staffers learned their fates Tuesday as Mayor-elect Helena Moreno’s incoming administration sent notices announcing layoffs as part of her plans to curtail spending to rectify the city’s ongoing budget crisis.
Emails and phone calls from Moreno’s transition team went out to dozens of workers Tuesday afternoon letting them know whether they’d continue in their current roles ahead of Moreno’s Jan. 12 inauguration, a blow that blindsided some and left questions around unspent federal grants and unfinished projects.
The move, which cuts 36 unclassified positions, is part of Moreno’s overarching spending plan for 2026 that’s expected to save the city about $27 million in personnel savings. Her transition team is also working to cut 62 probationary status employees who have worked for the city for less than a year. Moreno said on Wednesday that they have so far identified about 20 of those positions…