Auckland Council: City will lose some ‘nice-to-have’ services with 500 job cuts - deputy mayor Desley Simpson

By RNZ

Auckland must “trim the fat”to balance its books, which could mean losing some “nice-to-have” services, Auckland’s deputy mayor says, after the announcement of hundreds of job cuts.

Auckland Council has axed more than 500 jobs across several organisations in a cost saving exercise as it faces a $325 million shortfall in its budget. It warned that 200 more jobs could go once the annual budget is finalised by the end of June.

Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson told Morning Report the cost cutting was needed, and the heads of each organisation would decide how to find the money.

Deputy Mayor of Auckland Desley Simpson. Photo / Jason Oxenham

“We are trimming the fat. Some of those nice-to-have things that we used to do, we are now re-focusing on more of the must-dos. And ... that’s what you in times of financial challenges, you have to consider structural change to deliver better for Auckland,” she said.

“I think it’s important to put this in context. Council is really ... in an unprecedented situation with its budget hole. We have to develop a balanced budget and the post-Covid effects and interest rate rises combined with flat revenues have produced a huge debt for us, not to mention the storm recovery activity which we have to deal with.

“The second issue is the mayor came in with a mandate to design a more efficient and sustainable council, now that builds on the fact that ever since 2010 council have continued to look for savings, and I think that figure is well in excess of $2bn already.”

Simpson confirmed 160 jobs would go at Auckland Council, 200 from the council’s entertainment and economic development agency Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, 150 from Auckland Transport and 16 from urban regeneration organisation Eke Panuku Development Auckland.

Of the 160 jobs to go at Auckland Council itself, Simpson said 130 were vacant positions that would now not be filled.

“We are doing things more efficiently and sometimes when you refocus how that works you can get two jobs into one.

“You could also say we are stopping doing some of the work that we have been doing in the past, which may not have been what other people say are core council services.”

The councillors had left it up to each organisation’s executive to decide where the savings required of them would come from, she said.

“We haven’t said it has to come in the form of job losses, we’ve said to find savings ... that’s actually the role of the chief executives and the boards of the CCOs as well, but there’s no hiding from the fact we are asking our executives to transition council to be more nimble and adaptive.”

When asked about potential impacts to council services, Simpson said each organisation would have to answer that for itself.

Auckland Council chief executive Jim Stabback has said further organisational structure changes on top of these job losses would begin after the council budget was finalised in July.