Vancouver Spends $6 Million on Severance for Staff Cuts

The City of Vancouver spent $6 million on severance payouts for departing non-unionized employees last year, according to documents obtained by Postmedia through a freedom of information request. The city had previously refused to disclose the total. This spending coincided with a push by the ABC Vancouver party to eliminate approximately 400 full-time jobs to achieve a budget with no property tax increases.

In 2025, the city entered 79 severance agreements, marking the highest annual total on record. Ken Sim, the Mayor of Vancouver, defended the expenditures as one-time costs required to reduce long-term operating expenses and improve service delivery. However, senior departures have persisted into 2026, including the city clerk, deputy city clerk, chief procurement officer, and chief building official.

Mayoral candidates and political opponents have condemned the administration's staffing strategy. Critics including Pete Fry, Rebecca Bligh, and Kareem Allam characterized the approach as reckless and cited a lack of financial transparency regarding the scale of the payouts.