City of Toronto workers are bracing for a possible round of job cuts, which could be announced as early as Monday morning.
Mayor Rob Ford, who is faced with a massive $700-million budget shortfall, is expected to hold a news conference where he is expected to release the proposed 2012 budget.
During his election campaign last year, Ford -- who vowed to get rid of the gravy train -- promised to cut spending and balance the books without laying off workers.
Ford has mandated 10 per cent cuts across all city departments to offset the $774-million budget deficit.
But since then, few workers qualified for a buyout package offered by the city in a bid to pare down the massive budget shortfall.
Earlier this month, Toronto's city manager Joe Pennachetti said he accepted about 230 buyout packages, falling short of the 700 anticipated applications.
The city's Voluntary Separation packages were offered to eligible workers in July.
Union members and non-union employees will be awarded three weeks' pay for every year they have worked with the city, to a maximum of six months. Managers would receive four weeks for every year of service.
The expected cuts come just weeks ahead of the expiration date for the contracts that cover the city's 28,000 unionized workers. These contracts end on Dec. 31.
Union leadership has suggested that there could be a lockout in the new year if the city and unions can't come to an agreement on Jan. 1.
