Who Paid the Price for Denver’s 2025 Budget Cuts?

From August 18 to 20, the City of Denver notified 169 city employees of their layoffs, while cutting 665 vacant positions and moving 92 others out of the city’s general fund. The move, officials say, is part of an effort to close a $200 million budget gap projected for 2026 amid flat revenue growth

According to city data, the layoffs will save the city $104 million in 2026, roughly half the shortfall.

City officials state the cuts were guided by three principles: protecting core city services, maintaining focus on key priorities, and minimizing job loss.

“Layoffs were painful but necessary to balance the budget and protect core services,” city spokesperson Jon Ewing told Yellow Scene Magazine. “We went down every available avenue to prevent layoffs and only utilized them as a last resort.”

The 2025 Layoff Evaluation Process focused on “departments and agencies that made initial reductions, but were unable to meet the budget targets assigned by the Mayor’s Office.” Core direct city services, including trash pickup services, permitting times, and operating hours for recreation areas, were not affected.

The city aimed to eliminate bias as much as possible, and data released by the city showed no disproportionate impact based on race, gender, or management level.

However, by September 9, ten city employees filed appeals challenging their layoffs, citing age, political affiliations, race, sex, and disabilities as characteristics resulting in discrimination.

Former technology services employee Amber Escobedo told the Denver Post that she believed she was targeted for her political affiliation and “vocalization of unethical operations.”

Nine of the ten complaints also alleged age discrimination in the layoff process. The backlash dates back to July 1, when the Career Service Board voted to determine layoffs based on a combination of factors, rather than relying soely on seniority.

Despite assurances from city leaders, the layoffs have drawn criticism from community advocates like Lisa Calderon, a longtime Denver activist and executive director of Women Uprising. Calderon, who has spent decades organizing around racial and gender equity, says the city’s approach reflects a long-time pattern of silencing dissent.

Calderon herself is suing former Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration for alleged political retaliation and gender discrimination. However, she says the fight only strengthens her resolve. “When an employer does not like you speaking out […], they try to use every tool possible to try to destroy your career.”

“There’s nothing they can do to me that they haven’t done, and I’ve still survived, and I want that to be a lesson to them, that they fortified me, and a lesson for others who may feel like they’ve lost everything.”