Mitsotakis: layoffs not pleasant but under-performers have to go
Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Bloomberg in an interview aired on Friday that putting thousands of Greek civil servants into a so-called mobility scheme, and laying off thousands more, was an unpleasant task but that he was determined to ensure that the right choices are made when it comes to forced dismissals.
“It’s a tough job,» Mitsotakis said. «I don’t sleep well at night.»
“If I have to sign off on people losing their jobs, let me at least have done the best that I can and make the right choices as to who should lose their jobs,» he said.
Asked whether he was concerned that he would become the country’s most unpopular politician due to the cuts he must make, Mitsotakis said there were already several other politicians that are more disliked than he is. «If you look at who the really unpopular politicians are these days, people know, they are those who contributed to this really big and bloated state,» he said. «They are more unpopular than I am.»
Mitsotakis said he had been pressing for a more streamlined state sector for more than nine years. Those who burden the public administration by not doing their job should be dismissed, he said. «If someone is under-performing then, yes, he should lose his job.
