On the same day Mayor Bloomberg was raising the specter of massive layoffs, human-resources workers from every city agency were being trained how to hand out pink slips without running into legal complications, The Post has learned.
The training session for about 100 HR staffers was the first of its kind since 2002.
It was conducted by experts from the Law Department and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which oversees personnel, on Thursday morning.
That same day, Bloomberg warned that thousands more layoffs could be in the offing if municipal unions don’t provide givebacks on pensions and health benefits.
The mayor’s budget for fiscal 2012 already assumes more than 5,000 layoffs — and that’s before Gov. Cuomo unveils the new state budget next month with what are expected to be heavy cuts in aid to the city.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg yesterday blasted a Manhattan Supreme Court justice who blocked the city from going ahead with planned layoffs, accusing her of playing havoc with the city budget.
Justice Emily Jane Goodman issued a temporary restraining order late Thursday preventing the Finance Department from axing nine deputy sheriffs and demoting three supervising deputy sheriffs.
When city lawyers pointed out that the agency would lose $4,045 in savings each day, Goodman interjected, “So, we can afford two chancellors?” — a stinging reference to the deputy that Schools Chancellor Cathie Black was required to take on by the state education commissioner.
Speaking on his weekly show on WOR-AM yesterday, the mayor shot back: “This judge decides to step in [and say], ‘Oh, I feel sorry for these people.’ What about the taxpayers? We’re going to have to lay off people now in other areas.”
Ax man
More job cuts loom:
* Mayor raises specter of layoffs if unions don’t make concessions
* Human-resources officials from every city agency to be trained in implementing cuts
* City budget, with a projected $2.4B deficit, calls for 5,000 layoffs
* State-budget cuts may cost city another $1B.