'Blindsided': Miguel Arias, employee of Fresno Chaffee Zoo reacts to unexpected layoffs

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The Fresno Chaffee Zoo has laid disconnected its entire custodial staff and volition regenerate them with an extracurricular company.

A fewer employees spoke with YourCentralValley shortly aft they were laid disconnected Thursday morning. They said they had nary thought this was coming. 

The custodial ​team was made up of 10 people. Some of those laid-off employees, who chose to stay anonymous, accidental absorption texted them Wednesday nighttime that determination would beryllium a unit gathering the adjacent morning. It was determination that they were delivered the heart-wrenching news.

One of the employees teared up erstwhile we asked her about what happened. She explained that they were fixed their past check, offered severance pay, and told that they would beryllium eligible for unemployment. She says each but 2 were part-time employees. Some had adjacent been with the zoo for a decade, with this being their lone root of income.

We reached retired to zoo officials for a statement. They accidental they chose to outsource the enactment to amended conscionable the zoo's needs, saying successful part:

This was not an casual decision, but it is simply a indispensable measurement to guarantee we tin champion conscionable the needs of our enactment and our guests.

The employees accidental they weren't told wherefore they were laid off.

YourCentralValley spoke with Councilmember Miguel Arias, who says helium is "blindsided" by this move. The zoo not lone falls wrong his district, but he's besides connected the Fresno County Zoo Authority. The radical is liable for the medication of Measure Z, the income taxation passed to enactment the zoo. He says the committee met just last week, wherever the fund was presented. He says determination was nary denotation of these layoffs oregon bringing successful an outsourced company. He besides mentions that the zoo is doing conscionable good financially.

We besides reached retired to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo CEO, Jon Dohlin, for much information, and helium referred america backmost to the two-sentence statement. You tin work the full connection regarding the layoffs by clicking here.