Thousands of federal government workers receive layoff notices
Global News
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada said federal government workers are being forced into a 'Hunger Games-style fight for jobs.'
Thousands of workers across the federal public service have received notices that their jobs may be cut, many of them landing in the last week.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada said 1,775 workforce adjustment notices were issued to its members last week. The union said 2,273 members have received the notices since the federal budget was released in November.
The union said those members work in several departments and agencies including Public Services and Procurement Canada, Shared Services Canada, Statistics Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said 1,849 of its members were served a workforce adjustment notice last week and argues that public servants are being forced into a “Hunger Games-style fight for jobs.”
The union, which held a rally to denounce the cuts last week, said in a news release that it’s demanding the government explain why experienced public servants are facing waves of workforce reductions as outsourcing spending reaches record highs.
“We are hearing directly from members that consultants are still working alongside employees who received layoff notices this week,” said PIPSC president Sean O’Reilly. “That raises serious questions.”
Government records show Canada spent more than $19 billion on external professional and special services in 2024-25, an increase of almost $2 billion since the year before and about $8.5 billion since 2020.
O’Reilly said the cuts announced are part of the government’s comprehensive expenditure review and more job losses are expected in the weeks ahead.
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