Waterloo think-tank lays off more than 20 employees in wake of provincial funding cuts

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A Waterloo think-tank says they have been forced to lay off 21 employees as a result of provincial funding cuts.

Most of the affected employees at the Centre for International Governance Innovation found out about the layoffs on Wednesday.

The cut funding was part of a 10-year, $30 million funding agreement for CIGI’s International Law Research Program and made up about 20 per cent of the organization’s total income last year, according to the CIGI website.

The provincial government cancelled that funding as part of its 2019 budget, a CIGI employee tells CTV in an email.

In a statement on Thursday, CIGI’s president, Rohinton Medhora, confirmed the cuts.

"Yesterday we enacted organizational changes resulting from a loss of funding from the Government of Ontario to CIGI’s International Law Research Program. Unfortunately, this included the layoff of 21 staff," the statement reads in part.

The statement goes on to say that the affected employees will receive severance, continued benefits coverage and outplacement services.

A spokesperson for CIGI says that the organization is working on its next five-year strategic plan and intends to maintain its international law work.

The organization is still working with 46 research fellows. The employee says that some are expected to leave after their research is complete, while others could be added for existing or new research initiatives.

The rest of its programming will not be affected by the cuts, the CIGI employee says.