Austin city workers are concerned that the plan to consolidate the city's information technology staff into one central department could lead to hundreds of layoffs over the next two years. The city workers’ union, AFSCME Local 1624, has sent a letter to City Manager T.C. Broadnax demanding that the consolidation could harm city residents' health and safety. The union argues that the city could save $200 million a year by consolidating IT staff as it spends 81% more on IT services than peers. Only about 30% of city IT staff works in the Austin Technology Services department, with the remaining 70% spread out in other departments. The consolidation was recommended by Gartner Consulting, a third-party auditor working under a contract with the city, which recommends consolidating the city’s IT workers and reducing the number of applications used to provide services.