Last summer, the city of Denver lost nearly 160 employees as part of structured layoffs to help Denver Mayor Mike Johnston close a $250 million budget gap.

But the city lost much more than just its employees.

It lost more than 1,158 years of combined experience, according to analysis and reporting from Axios.

Along with the loss of 265 years of experience among 30 employees, the city’s transportation department took the biggest hit, followed by planning and development, which lost 128 years of experience.

On Aug. 18 of last year, Johnston released preliminary information on the total number of positions affected by budget reductions, but it was only after Axios and other journalists threatened legal action under the Colorado Open Records Act that the city came forward with the details.

District 11 Councilmember Stacie Gilmore’s husband was one of the 159 employees terminated during the layoff.

Gilmore announced his layoff at a City Council meeting and described the move as “targeted.”

“It is ageism,” Gilmore said. “He is a 61-year-old man who only wanted to serve out the last four years of his time until he was 65, and because of his sassy, loud-mouthed wife, he got let go.”

Additionally, the city eliminated a total of 665 vacant positions funded by the city’s General Fund to “solve $100 million of our $200 million budget gap for 2026.”

City officials said a deficit of this size “requires a structural reorganization to prevent this type of budget deficit in the future while continuing to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

City officials have touted planned improvements in efficiency through artificial intelligence and other technologies to ensure core city services do not suffer.

Johnston issued his first executive order last year, overhauling the city’s permitting department and establishing a 180-day “shot clock” to expedite the city’s review and approval of permits for renovations and new construction. If the city fails to meet that deadline, applicants may appeal to the Denver Permitting Office, and the city may refund up to $10,000 in some cases.

Now that the Denver Broncos are set to make the Burnham Yard their new stadium home, Denver city planners will face an even heavier workload, with fewer resources as the city continues to dig itself out of a deficit.

At the same time, they’ll have to juggle the needs of Mayor Johnston’s “catalytic” investments in the new NWSL stadium and the Park Hill Golf Course with the hundreds of permits that come in daily, ranging from small projects like new electrical panels and roof work to larger projects downtown.

The full impact of Denver’s layoff may not be known for some time to come.