As Denver continues to grapple with its $250 million budget shortfall, nervous city employees got a first look at the timeline for layoff announcements and how severance packages for those affected may look.

In a Thursday email to all city employees, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said layoff notifications will be made over a one-week period, beginning Aug. 18,

“As is common practice with many organizations,” Johnston wrote in the email provided to The Denver Gazette, “the employee’s last working day will be the same day as they are notified, unless an exception is made.”

Following layoff notifications, employees will be placed on administrative leave for 30 calendar days, but will continue to receive their salary and benefits.

In addition, employees will also be eligible for severance packages based on their individual length of service with the city and job “transition” assistance, provided they sign an agreement with the city.

“Mayor Johnston is asking city workers to sign away their legal rights in exchange for insufficient severance, while offering services they already have access to,” labor rights supporter Lisa Calderón, who ran against Johnston in the mayoral race, told The Denver Gazette. “That’s not support — it’s coercion. These layoffs, timed just before collective bargaining rights take effect, are a deliberate attempt to weaken worker protections.”

Johnston has gained the ire of local unions, accusing him of “changing the rules” before the city’s voter-approved collective bargaining can begin.

They Mayor’s union critics are also upset with the Denver Career Services Board’s recent changes to Career Service Rule 14, which deals with layoff procedures.

The changes, approved July 1, place more emphasis on employee merit, rather than seniority.

Opponents also argued the change is “insulting” and it creates opportunities for managers to “eliminate critics and rivals.”

Union members in support of city workers have publicly vowed to fight both Johnston and the city on the matter, rallying outside of the Webb Building on July 1 prior to the CSB’s final vote.

Under the city’s terms, post-probation employees with less than a year of service will receive two weeks of pay.

Those with more than one year, but less than five years of service, will receive four weeks of pay.

Employees with more than five years, but less than 15, get six weeks of pay.

Those with 15 or more years of service will receive eight weeks of pay.

Probationary employees, those who are retiring, and “on-call” employees will not be offered the severance package.

One city employee described the letter as “a big disappointment.”

Critical of the severance structure, Calderón argued that Johnston’s “unchecked spending” is responsible for the city’s budget crisis, and city workers will pay the price.

“Longtime employees — who tend to be more vocal about working conditions — are being offered barely more than new hires, raising serious questions about age discrimination and retaliation,” Calderón said. “I urge employees to document everything, seek legal advice, and know that they have the right to fight back.”

Voters in November approved Referral Question 2U, making nearly 7,000 city employees who are not already part of a union eligible to organize and form bargaining units on Jan. 1, 2026.

City officials said that the CSB’s rule changes were drafted with significant input from the City Attorney’s Office and that “great care” has been taken to ensure department heads use the tools provided by Human Resources to make layoff decisions.