Layoffs at Mohawk College began Monday and include people in leadership roles
Hamilton's Mohawk College has said it intends to cut between 200 and 400 jobs
Mohawk College started laying off employees this week, beginning with people who work in administration. The directors of equity, diversity and inclusion, and public affairs, and the dean of students are among those who received layoff notices on Monday, Mohawk confirmed.
"The staffing reductions that happened and the ones that will follow next year are not related to anyone's performance. These changes are driven by the circumstances the college is facing today," Sean Coffey, the college's director of communications and special events, told CBC Hamilton in an email.
Layoffs took effect Tuesday and "mark the end of planned reductions" for administrative staff, Coffey said, adding layoffs for support staff and faculty will follow terms set out in their collective agreements and "will not happen until the new year."
In November, the Hamilton post-secondary institution announced it intends to cut 200 to 400 jobs in response to a bleak fiscal outlook, which included a projected $50 million shortfall in the 2025-2026 school year.
Mohawk's president, and the unions representing faculty, librarians, counsellors and support staff, told CBC Hamilton they blame recent government policy changes that have limited the number of international students in Ontario colleges and universities.
At Mohawk, international student enrolments have declined, resulting in a revenue gap, the college has said, adding that current levels of funding from the province are insufficient. Toronto's Sheridan College has also attributed planned cuts and layoffs to government policy changes.
Coffey wouldn't say how many Mohawk employees lost their jobs this week. He said that information would first be shared internally.
CBC Hamilton viewed an internal memo sent by college president Paul Armstrong on Tuesday. He said that on Friday, he would share the number of administrative staff who were laid off, how many people took voluntary retirement incentives and the number of vacant positions the college cut.
Despite the college laying off its director of equity, diversity and inclusion, the college "remains committed" to its related goals, Coffey said.
"[Equity, diversity and inclusion have] become firmly embedded within many policies, processes and practices throughout the college and has become an important part of our culture," he said.
Richard Mader said, in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday, that he was one of those laid off this week.
Mader, who worked for two years as a manager of digital skills at the college, said he was "disappointed that it came to this" but "very proud" of what his team achieved, including creating "truly awesome spaces within the Makerspace and Digital Creativity Centre."
In a message to CBC Hamilton on Thursday, he said the layoffs are "a terrible situation that really hurt a lot of good people" at Mohawk.
"At the end of the day it will be the students that will suffer in the form of not only academic delivery but also the services associated with the college," he said.
CBC Hamilton contacted the Mohawk Students' Association for their take on how the layoffs will affect students but did not receive a response prior to publication.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
