The Toronto Transit Commission says it is temporarily laying off about 1,200 employees over the coming weeks due to plunging ridership amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move is one of several "cost-saving measures" being enacted to maintain "critically important transit service in the city," officials said in a news release issued Thursday.

"This was an incredibly tough decision today, but it really was a decision of last resort," TTC CEO Rick Leary told CBC News.

"Honestly, it breaks my heart. I've been in this business a long time, these are good employees, they did nothing wrong. It's just a result of COVID-19."

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said on Twitter that people who are affected will receive benefits through the fall, when a review will happen.

The organization says service will be maintained at roughly 70 to 80 per cent of regular levels, which is in line with current demand during the pandemic.

Carlos Santos, president of ATU Local 113, which is the union representing thousands of TTC operators and maintenance personnel, slammed the move.

"That's the thank you our members get for sacrificing themselves day in and day out, putting their families and themselves at risk," Santos said in an email to CBC News. "Federal and provincial governments need to step in."

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In a letter to members posted to the union's website, Santos said almost 30 workers have tested positive for COVID-19. 

"No doubt, this feels like a punch to the gut after all the hard work our members are doing to keep Toronto moving throughout the … pandemic," Santos wrote. "You deserve better than today's announcement."

The transit agency said the pandemic has resulted in an 85 per cent drop in ridership and a loss of $90 million in monthly revenue, which is cash that is "essential to sustain operations."

Leary said that two-thirds of the TTC's revenue comes from fares.

"Right now I think it's impossible to ignore the financial impact COVID-19 is having on the TTC," he said.

"We've really become financially tight when it comes to having revenues come in."

Similar problems are happening in other Canadian cities. On Monday, the transit authority for Metro Vancouver announced nearly 1,500 staff were going to be laid off and 18 bus routes will be suspended as of Friday.

Winnipeg Transit is losing millions, that city's mayor says, and so cuts are also being considered there.

Service cuts a problem, union says

The TTC announced that it is also pausing all salary increases for non-unionized employees, reducing overtime across the organization, reviewing current vacancies and forgoing hiring all seasonal hires. It is also delaying all non-essential capital projects "in accordance with provincial guidelines," according to the news release.