Personnel updates transfer portal, targeted local hire amid possible layoffs; committee holds transfer item for follow-up

City personnel officials on June 18 updated the Personnel and Hiring Committee about an expedited transfer process designed to reduce layoffs and reported progress on the Targeted Local Hire (TLH) and Bridge-to-Jobs programs.

Personnel staff said an initial ETP outreach email went to roughly 7,300 city employees. As of the briefing, departments had received about 1,600 applications and personnel had made roughly 1,800 referrals involving about 1,000 unique employees. Personnel reported 238 transfer opportunities identified so far and 14 conditional job offers accepted; departments were interviewing and processing background checks for additional candidates.

Cynthia Fletus of the Personnel Department summarized TLH and Bridge-to-Jobs results for March through May 2025, saying an average of 86% of citywide hires into classes used by TLH were made through that program during the three months. She also said the TLH candidate pool typically holds 2,000 to 3,000 active candidates at any time.

Personnel described the ETP as a multi-phase effort. Initial outreach focused on incumbent classifications where vacancies exist in proprietaries and special-funded departments. The CAO's office said moving city employees from general fund positions into special-funded positions can conserve budgeted salary dollars and reduce layoffs. CAO Matt Szabo told the committee the wide net of outreach is "beneficial to the goal of layoff avoidance" and emphasized departments should first determine whether a vacant position can be used to avoid a layoff within the department before personnel fills it via transfer.

Councilmembers and department leaders raised several operational concerns: the pace of correcting employee job histories (personnel said prioritized corrections would be completed within about three months), the effect of natural attrition as proprietary departments recruit city staff, difficulties filling unique classifications, and ensuring candidates slated for layoff can access transfer opportunities. Personnel staff said next steps include targeted outreach to employees in classifications identified for potential deletion, continued referrals to hiring departments, and using eligible lists or emergency appointments where necessary.

Representatives from the Office of Finance, Port of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) described active use of the ETP. Finance reported 13 commitments and a target of July 1 to start hires tied to a revenue project; the Port said it had about 31 positions it planned to fill via the expedited process; LAWA reported receiving 360 applications and completing interviews in multiple classifications.

The committee did not vote to enact new policy but agreed to hold Item 8 (the citywide layoff management/transfer portal report) in committee for follow-up. The committee requested that POLA and LAWA provide written updates every two weeks on transfer opportunities, conditional offers and classifications, and directed police, fire and emergency management departments to appear at the next committee meeting with written reports on transfer numbers and classifications.