TORONTO ZOO TEMPORARILY LAYS-OFF 118 NON-PERMANENT EMPLOYEES AND PAUSES SUMMER HIRINGS DUE TO CLOSURE FROM COVID-19

TORONTO, ON, Friday, April 3, 2020: As a result of the Toronto Zoo’s public closure announcement on March 13^th, and the further announcement from the City of Toronto cancelling all public events until June 30^th due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Zoo has made the difficult decision to temporarily lay-off 118 non-permanent employees from areas of the Zoo that are primarily focused on the guest experience. These changes become effective April 6^th and predominantly impact Guest Relations, Guest Operations, Retail & Membership, Learning & Engagement, Strategic Communications, Partnerships & Events, Transit, Custodial, First Aid, Materials Collection, Human Resources/Payroll, Purchasing & Supply, Safety & Security, with very limited impacts in Wildlife and Science. In addition, 275 summer employment positions have been put on hold until the Zoo receives further direction from the City of Toronto on the timing of re-opening. These steps impact 58% of our peak season workforce. 

It is important to note that animal care and staff safety remain our highest priorities and these staffing decisions do not impact full-time staff who work directly with our animals in Wildlife Care, the Wildlife Health Centre (veterinary and reproductive sciences) and Nutrition. 

“In almost a half-century of operating our Toronto Zoo, we have never experienced an event of this magnitude, which has led to such a lengthy closure and temporary job losses. This decision was a painful one as we value our talented team of passionate animal care activists and it was a decision that was not taken lightly. We are extremely grateful for the programs established by the Government of Canada to support employees negatively impacted by this crisis and we look forward to the day when we can re-open our City’s Zoo,” said Mr. Dolf DeJong, Toronto Zoo, Chief Executive Officer. “The origins of this pandemic clearly show how our role in connecting people, animals and conservation science to fight extinction has never been more important. We want to thank all of our donors, members, volunteers, and community supporters during this challenging time,” he added. 

As a not-for-profit charitable organization, the Toronto Zoo relies primarily on revenues from our guests to support our operations throughout the year. With the Zoo’s closure starting on March 13^th, just before the March Break, the impact on our revenues has been significant and with no re-opening date in the foreseeable future, we were compelled to make these difficult decisions in order to manage our expenses while ensuring we provide the best care for our animals.  

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Media Contact Information:

Katie Gray
Manager of Strategic Communications
(416) 938-5283
[email protected]

Amanda Chambers
Supervisor of Strategic Communications
[email protected]