RTD-Denver lays off 300 workers

The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) last week laid off about 300 workers, including rail operators and technicians, to align its workforce to the service levels that have been reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency is poised to receive new federal assistance from the recent stimulus bill passed by Congress, and likely will rescind some planned layoffs of front-line workers, RTD officials said in a press release.

It's unclear how much RTD will receive of the $14 billion transit portion of the second major stimulus, they said.

Last year, the agency received $232 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which allowed RTD to keep staff in place through the end of 2020.

The agency initially projected that hundreds more job cuts would be necessary, but more recently estimated about 300 positions would be lost through layoffs and additional positions through attrition, RTD officials said.