As part of its cuts, the MTA recently mailed out nearly 500 layoff letters to station agents across the city, calling for agents to turn in their badges and uniforms and to attend an "exit session" before the layoffs become official. The layoffs will go into effect on Friday, causing about 70 station booths to close but it will save the MTA $21 million a year. Booth clerk Jhesky Vega, who worked his last shift on Wednesday, told the Daily News, "I'm feeling lost and dazed. I'm walking around like a zombie."
The layoffs came at a particularly bad time for Vega, who is planning his wedding in October. It came as a shock to him and many other workers, who believed their jobs would provide them life-long job security. Vega said, "The older clerks said, 'It's never going to happen.' ... And it actually did." MTA officials say that at least one station agent will still be present in every station at all times. TWU Local 100 boss John Samuelsen has expressed anger over the cuts, accusing MTA CEO Jay Walder of using stimulus funds for big, money-draining projects instead of for keeping jobs. He said, "These layoffs are destroying hundreds of families. I hope he sleeps well tonight."
