Costa Mesa Workers Reel From Layoffs, Colleague's Suicide
COSTA MESA (CBS/AP) — Crisis counselors have been brought in to help stunned co-workers of a Costa Mesa maintenance worker who jumped to his death from the roof of City Hall an hour after he was called in to get his layoff notice.
Police said 29-year-old Huy Pham jumped off the building at 3:20 p.m. Thursday and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pham was on a list of more than 200 people -- nearly half of the city's workforce -- targeted for layoffs in a drastic move to plug a $15 million budget hole. The layoffs were part of the plan to outsource more than 18 city services.
Pham worked for the city for 4 1/2 years. He had been at home with a broken ankle and was not supposed to work Thursday but was called in to receive his layoff notice.
Even before Pham's death, tensions were running high at City Hall as employees received layoff notices. City workers said outsourcing and layoffs would impact services to the community and area business.
Other workers accused city council members of supporting the layoffs to throw businesses to private companies who supported them with political donations.
About 100 of the layoffs include firefighters. Councilman Jim Righeimer said they would be hired by the Orange County Fire Authority, which will take over firefighting services for the city.
Righeimer says a big part of the city's financial problems are due to the ballooning pension fund costs.
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