GARY | The city of Gary is expected to lay off an unknown number of city workers Friday, at least 11 of which are union employees, a union official confirmed.

Teamsters business agent Ted Bilski said he received a letter from the city notifying him the 11 Teamster positions would be eliminated effective Friday, six of which are vacant positions.

City spokeswoman LaLosa Burns would not confirm Thursday the plan to lay off workers Friday but said the city had been meeting with union officials within the last week.

While it is unclear how many people ultimately are expected to be laid off, Burns said she expected it to be fewer than 100 people.

Last month, the state Distressed Unit Appeal Board gave the city of Gary some reprieve from new state property tax caps. But the city still was faced with making $11.25 million in budget cuts by the end of this year.

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has acknowledged layoffs would be needed but has vowed not to siphon from the police and fire departments.

"We anticipated some cuts after the Distressed Unit (decision)," Bilski said.

Bilski said the five people who will be laid off include one six-wheel truck driver and four laborers. The driver's rate is $13.24 per hour, while the laborers make about $10 per hour, he said.

Bilski said he is particularly interested in seeing how many union workers will be let go versus non-union staff.

"We would like to know how we were treated," Bilski said.

Bilski said the city already had laid off 40 Teamsters when its leaders chose to privatize garbage pickup in recent months.