The city of New York is to lay off thousands of teachers as part of efforts to balance the city's budget, according to a budget presented Thursday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, dpa reported.
Nearly 4,700 teachers are to be laid off, while a further 1,500 positions will be lost as teachers retire or leave on their own, local broadcaster NY1 reported.
Bloomberg already announced in November the striking of some 10,000 of the city's 300,000 public servants in a bid to close a 2.4- billion-dollar budget shortfall.
The announced cuts would save about 2.1 billion dollars.
With more than 1 million pupils, New York City operates the largest school district in the United States.