At least 5,600 state workers were laid off over the past week amid President Javier Milei’s severe austerity measures, according to the State Workers Association (ATE, by its Spanish initials). It’s the latest wave of layoffs which has led to the partial or total closure of state offices.

In addition, 2,700 employees have been told they will be receiving a formal dismissal notice in the upcoming days, according to ATE’s latest data.

Seven thousand employees had already been laid off in December after Milei decided to terminate all state temporary contracts that had begun in 2023.

“The layoffs are seriously going to affect how the public administration works,” ATE’s leader Rodolfo Aguiar said. “It’s a tragedy, not only for the workers and their families but also because behind every lost job is a public policy being dismantled.”

The layoffs only affect employees hired under temporary contracts, a precarious contract modality widely used in Argentine public administration. These contracts are commonly renewed yearly, often renewed this way for decades without the workers being incorporated as permanent staff. In many cases,........

© Buenos Aires Herald