PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Housing Authority President Kelvin Jeremiah has announced plans to lay off nearly 300 employees beginning in January — a move he said will save the agency nearly $29 million.
“We need to refocus our resources on our core mission, which is to provide housing for vulnerable and low-income Philadelphians,” he said in a recent interview with KYW Newsradio. “It’s clear the operating model that PHA has used for the last 20-25 years just simply doesn’t work.”
That model employed hundreds of skilled trade union members full-time for maintenance and repair work. Jeremiah compared it to the process of building a house.
“You have carpenters, electricians, laborers, plumbers, roofers,” he said. “Once the house is built, you don’t keep all of the people that worked on the house, right? Except at PHA, we do. It's not effective. It’s not efficient, and it has become cost-prohibitive.”
Jeremiah said that PHA’s costs are far above the industry standard, with one maintenance mechanic supported by a janitor and a porter. That is the model PHA is moving toward.
“What will result is a more effective, more efficient model that will give us a reduced cost,” Jeremiah said.
The move comes several months after Jeremiah announced an ambitious $6.8 billion plan to acquire, build or rehabilitate 20,000 units of affordable housing. He said that project will create 4,900 new jobs, and many of the laid-off workers may end up finding new employment there.
“We are working very, very closely with the trades to make sure the impacted employees have soft landings,” Jeremiah said.
The first round of layoffs is set to begin in mid-January, according to Jeremiah. A smaller reduction will take place six months later. He expects a total of 283 workers to be let go.