NYC cancels teacher raises to avoid layoffs

NEW YORK The mayor had proposed laying off 4,400 teachers in his budget plan last month. The job cuts were part of his plan to make up for hundreds of millions in aid the city expects it won't get from the state.

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Bloomberg said in a statement Wednesday that he has canceled the 2 percent raises planned for teachers for the next two years. He says it is not an ideal solution but will save those teachers' jobs.

The budget plan last month called for shrinking the 300,000-person city workforce by nearly 11,000 jobs through 6,000 layoffs and 5,000 by attrition.