Twenty-nine employees who received layoff notices Tuesday worked in the northeast and north central districts, which also include courts in Pasadena and Alhambra.
Along with the 329 layoffs, another 62 county court employees will be transferred or demoted and, as a result, see a pay cut, McCoy said.
The system has a $79.3-million deficit for the current fiscal year, McCoy said, and about 80% of the Los Angeles Superior Court budget is spent on salaries and benefits.
A large portion of the cuts are senior employees, who worked up through the court system and have a great amount of experience, said John Clarke, the court executive officer.
“They are crushed,” he said.
But this month’s cuts are only a sign of more court reductions still to come, he said.
By the end of June, another 500 employees will be laid off, cutting the court system’s workforce by nearly 10%, McCoy said.
A larger cut is expected in September when 1,000 employees will be laid off for a nearly 20% workforce reduction, he said.
Along with those layoffs, up to 50 courtrooms could eventually be shut down, McCoy said.
Seventeen courtrooms will be closed during the first round of cuts, officials said. While the Superior Court branches in Glendale and Burbank will be preserved in that round, officials warned that all county courts will be cut in some form.
McCoy held Tuesday’s news conference inside a Stanley Mosk Superior courtroom in downtown Los Angeles that was darkened due to the budget restrictions.
While courtrooms will be shut, judges will not be laid off and will instead be reassigned to other duties, including enhanced settlement hearings, McCoy said.
Employee and courtroom cuts, he said, reduce the court system’s ability to serve county residents and establish justice.
“Justice delayed is indeed justice denied,” he said.
