MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Some Memphis Area Transit Authority employees will soon receive layoff letters in the mail, following the company’s decision to cut the yearly budget, according to an internal employee email obtained by WREG.
This comes after MATA’s Interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin announced in June that they were dealing with a $60 million deficit going into the new fiscal year, and the recent suspension of trolley services due to “costly updates.”
“Following years of increased costs, decreased ridership, and flat funding, our organization must stabilize before it can move forward into the future and become a transit system of choice,” said Mauldin in an email to MATA employees.
Mauldin said in a message to staff members that MATA will decrease its staffing from 512 employees to 250-300.
Memphians can expect many changes in the near future, including a decrease in bus routes, from 23 routes to 16. The downtown trolley service is also suspended.
“A lot of the people we moved down here because of the convenience of the trolley,” downtown resident Danny Muhammad said. “What are they gonna do now?”
Muhammad fears tourism could take a hit if the trolleys aren’t running, comparing the situation to what might happen in other cities with iconic trolleys if they weren’t available.
“San Francisco and not being able to ride on the trolleys there, ‘Man what’s going on with ya’lls city?'” he said.
Mauldin says it would take around $85 million to operate the current services and staffing, but on Tuesday, the company will begin public discussions regarding a proposed $67 million budget to the MATA board.
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Many MATA employees are expected to be affected by the budget cuts. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN letters) have already been sent out to employees affected by the pausing of trolley services, but the company says more notices agency-wide can be expected soon.
In an email to MATA employees, Mauldin claimed the transit authority will help displaced employees find alternative employment options in the near future.
“We recognize the difficult impact this can have on families,” she said.
Sammie Hunter with the Memphis Bus Riders Union fears how the cuts will affect the city as a whole, saying it’s going to have a “domino effect.”
“I know a lot of the MATA employees, the operators that drive the bus and I’m praying for them because of what they’re going through right now. This is rough, to lose your job, the years that you have put into a company and then they tell you they don’t need you anymore,” Hunter said.
Hunter says it’s time for a change in leadership at MATA.
Muhammad wants local officials to call for help.
“The city council and the mayor need to go in a room somewhere, call on the Congressman, see if you can find some emergency funds, call on the state senators,” he said.
