July 10--A Los Angeles company that reaped the benefits of California's largest turf removal rebate and drew praise from Mayor Eric Garcetti for creating jobs amid the drought has slashed its workforce now that funding for the rebates has run dry.
Turf Terminators, which ballooned from a staff of three to more than 450 over the last several months, laid off 30% of its employees and furloughed an additional 40%, the company said Friday in a statement to The Times. Officials did not specify the number of employees affected.
"Unfortunately, the sudden shutdown of the rebate program has forced the company to downsize its operations," the company's statement said. "A sizable percentage of the company remains fully employed and the company is still fully operational and servicing its existing customers."
The announcement comes after the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California this week effectively ended its popular turf removal rebate program, saying that about $340 million in program funding had been spoken for.
Turf Terminators seized on the frenzy to tear out lawns by essentially offering to remove the lawns and replace them with drought-tolerant plants in exchange for the rebate money.
"We are hopeful that the Metropolitan Water District will reinstate their rebate program so that we can bring back our workforce and continue to service those that wish to utilize rebates to remove their turf," the company's statement said. "The company is also offering services to customers that wish to pay for turf removal."
MWD directors will get an update on the turf rebate program next week, "but we have no indication that they will add more money," MWD spokeswoman Sherita Coffelt said Thursday.
The earliest the board might consider boosting funding would be sometime in 2016 when officials begin planning for the 2016-17 fiscal year, she said.
Coffelt said that more than 45,000 applications for turf removal have been approved or are being processed. By comparison, only about 14,000 projects have been completed, she said.
All of the approved but unfinished projects provide "a significant opportunity for landscapers to get involved in helping these applications transform their yards to drought-tolerant," Coffelt said.
"I can't speak for their business decisions, but there are certainly opportunities."
Having fewer employees could also mean longer wait times for customers.
"Every landscaper has to compete for customers based on the way they service their customers," Coffelt said. "If customers aren't getting the service they need, there is no shortage of landscaping companies."
In his State of the City address in April, Garcetti pointed to Turf Terminators as a job creator.
"Angelenos never let a good crisis go to waste ... we're even using this drought to create jobs," he said, according to a transcript of the speech. "For example, Turf Terminators is an L.A. company that leverages rebates to replace water-guzzling lawns with beautiful, water-wise plants -- like the ones you see on this stage -- for free!
"The company started with just three people last July," Garcetti continued. "Now it employs more than 450. These are some of the thousands of new, green jobs that have bloomed since I became mayor. So tear up that turf, Los Angeles!"
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
