CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell held a news conference Friday to address the proposed safety worker layoffs, reported NewsChannel5.

Campbell announced that Cleveland's budget crisis is the worst the city has faced since the Great Depression, and the city needs to cut $68 million to overcome its financial difficulties. This could mean laying off hundreds of police officers, firefighters and emergency medical service workers.

Campbell said that as of now, it is just a proposal, and no final decisions have been made for the final budget cut. She also said that the cuts could be avoided if the safety union leaders are willing to cooperate and work with the mayor and her staff.

But safety union leaders are saying that Campbell knows that these cuts are on the way.

If the layoff proposal is approved, 415 police officers, 235 firefighters and 52 EMS workers could be laid off by Dec. 23. This large cut would reduce the police force from 1,815 officers to 1,400 officers. This would mean just three officers for every 1,000 residents.

Union leaders have said that the cuts in workers could lead to disastrous results for the city, making response time for emergencies much longer.

Cedric Johns, of the Cleveland Association of Rescue employees, said he expects EMS response time to more than triple if cuts are made, from six minutes to about 20 minutes.

"It's the difference between life and death. We are the safety net for citizens, and if that safety net is pulled out from under them, then people will die," said Johns.