RTD-Denver to slash jobs to address financial crunch

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) plans to cut the number of employment positions by 25 percent to 30 percent due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The planned reduction will include about 635 part-time and full-time positions for represented and salaried staff that are currently filled. The number may change as the agency conducts a more detailed analysis, RTD officials said in a press release.

Additional positions now vacant would also be eliminated. 

The reductions are necessary due to a $166 million shortfall in 2021, with anticipated shortfalls of that amount or more in the coming years, agency officials said.

RTD is now carrying about 40 percent of its pre-COVID level of ridership, providing 60 percent of its pre-pandemic level of service and continuing to employ 100 percent of its workforce. 

Funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act — which is expected to be depleted by the end of the year — has allowed the agency to maintain pre-pandemic staffing levels. But RTD officials say the agency won't be able to maintain current staffing levels when that funding is spent. 

Further budget reductions planned for 2021 include:

• Deferring $114 million in capital and maintenance projects;
• Forgoing pay increases for salaried employees; and
• Implementing tiered furloughs for salaried employees, ranging from no furlough days for employees with the lowest salaries and up to 18 furlough days for the agency’s highest income earners.