Westland lays off 77 city employees during COVD-19 pandemic 

WESTLAND, Mich. - More than 75 city of Westland employees will wake up Monday morning with nowhere to go, after being temporarily laid off in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The extensive furlough plan went into effect Friday. 

"The decision to place such a large number of employees on temporary furlough was difficult, but necessary to mitigate the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic as municipalities across the nation are projecting budget shortfalls in the upcoming years," said Westland Mayor William R. Wild. 

The cuts will save the city about $250,000 a month. 

The temporarily lay-offs affect 77 full-time and part time employees. 

The Westland Police and Fire Department are not affected by the cuts. 

Meanwhile, furloughed employees can apply for unemployment under the Cares Act. 

They will continue to receive full healthcare benefits and their life insurance policies will stay intact. 

The mayor says the goal is to bring back those who were laid off as soon as possible, but no one knows exactly when that will be. 

The 18th District Court and the Westland Public Library are also working on similar furlough plans.