By Stephanie Swensrude
Dozens of NAIT employees were laid off recently and replaced by outside contractors in a move to cut costs.
A statement from NAIT cites the provincial funding decreases of $19.1 million as the need to make cuts. As custodial services were “already partially outsourced”; the school made the decision to eliminate 52 positions.
These changes will save NAIT about $700,000 a year.
NAIT has said in previous statements that they have been expecting funding cuts. NAIT is predicting additional cuts in the next two budgets, which will further challenge their finances.
Dozens of reviews on the job site Indeed call out the institution’s bloated management positions as well as their recent move to contractors.
Former employees claim that they were “held hostage”, being promised full-time positions. A former custodian of 23 years was let go recently and replaced by a contractor after “working [hard] for COVID-19 reasons”.
The salaries of NAIT’s highest-paid employees are disclosed online. Glenn Feltham, former CEO of NAIT, was the highest-paid employee during his tenure. From 2015 to 2019, Feltham was paid a total of $2.58 million.
