Federal public servants in the capital region say the reality of thousands of lay-offs is sinking in after Thursday's budget.
Most workers were keeping quiet Friday, but those who did talk said their managers had passed on a few details.
"We got messages from our managers this morning that there will be job cuts, and letters will be going out after Easter," said one.
Many numbers are being thrown around but the government said 19,200 public service jobs will be eliminated across the country, with about 7,000 of those through retirements or other forms of attrition.
Page 221 of the budget document says a large portion of those cuts will be in Ottawa and Gatineau.
Government officials said the cuts are moderate after pre-budget fears there would be many more cuts, but public servants said thousands will still lose their jobs to go along with those who already have.
"That was how brilliant the budget was, because a lot of fear was created before the budget and when it came out people said it's not as bad as we thought," said the public servant.
"But what they're doing is they're missing all the really bad stuff."
If you add contract and temporary workers, the public servant union said that 19,200 is the tip of the iceberg.
"Just recently we got a strategic review from last year, and if I add those up to the 19,200 now we're in the 30,000 range," said PSAC president John Gordon.
Terry Scanlon has been selling hot dogs at the corner of Bank and Laurier in Ottawa's business district for 30 years and said he can tell workers are nervous.
"That's why we're so busy today," he said. "They don't want to spend the big money on food so they're coming outside and getting less expensive food."
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Catherine Lathem
