Yes We Can (Bury Bad News)!

The mayor’s finely honed Jo Moore sensibilities on display during this historic occasion:

Mayor Bloomberg plans to send out 500 pink slips as part of his goal to slash 3,000 jobs from the city’s workforce to cope with the budget crisis.

The layoffs will come from various agencies, said a source, who would not identify which will be hit.

To meet the target, City Hall is canceling the January Police Academy class, eliminating 475 education positions and chopping night hours at five fire engine companies, his administration revealed Tuesday.

Bloomberg, who recently said layoffs were unlikely, will announce the job cuts today as part of his midyear budget changes.

The drastic move is meant to partially plug a budget gap for this year and next that stands at $4 billion, his administration said.

In September, Bloomberg predicted his budget blow could be achieved without firing city workers, but he never committed to saving jobs.

“I don’t think we will get to the point of layoffs,” he had said.

The looming pink slips have some lawmakers stunned.

“I thought layoffs were a last resort. I thought we’d do attrition first and see how it is,” said Councilman David Weprin (D-Queens) who heads the Finance Committee.

Annotation: There was obviously a deal, wasn’t there?