Noboa shrinks the size of government, consolidates agencies, plans layoffs of 5,000 public employees

Ecuador’s government is about to shrink. Presidential press officer Carolina Jaramillo announced Thursday night that ministries will be reduced from 20 to 14 and that secretariats will drop from 9 to 3. The restructuring also means the dismissal of about 5,000 public employees.

President Daniel Noboa

In describing the changes ordered by President Daniel Noboa, Jaramillo did not specify where personnel cuts will occur, although she did say that no jobs losses will occur for public school teachers, medical workers and members of armed forces and police. Employees with disabilities and pregnant women will also be spared, she said.

In total, the government will eliminate 40% of its offices Jaramillo said, although all current functions will be maintained in the consolidated structure.

During the recent presidential campaign, Noboa said the national government had become “bloated” and needed to be cut back. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also encouraged a reduction of the public payroll, suggesting it was necessary for consideration of future loans.

Jaramillo insisted that the reduction of offices and employees was necessary for creating more streamlined state functions. The dismissals are the result of an institutional analysis process and are not politically motivated, she said.

This reduction includes the merger of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and the Ministry of Transport and Public Works; the transfer of the Ministries of Culture and Sport and the Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation to the Ministry of Education; the merger of the Ministry of Women and Human Rights with the Ministry of Government; and the transfer of the Ministry of the Environment to the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

In addition, the Ministry of Tourism will merge with the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment, and Fisheries, and the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries will be transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, among other changes.

In the security sector, the National Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) and the ECU-911 Integrated Security Service will now report to the Ministry of the Interior, moving from direct presidential oversight.

Jaramillo also clarified that the 5,000 layoffs are separate from the ministerial mergers and are specifically aimed at improving “administrative efficiency.” She stated that officials found to “obstruct efficient work” or linked to “mafias” entrenched in state institutions will be among those dismissed.

“The result of this focus on efficiency has been to detect that there are officials who obstruct the efficient work that we want to do in the various government departments,” Jaramillo said. “We cannot keep officials who prevent work from being carried out excellently and transparently. We cannot tolerate men and women who, when approached for a public service, respond, ‘There is no system,’ and do not provide a solution,” she added.

The government plans to open a smaller number of new positions for young people after these immediate dismissals, which will be carried out in accordance with labor laws, with severance and compensation paid.

On Friday morning, two public workers unions said they were planning protests of government plans.