Pichincha Prefecture Announces Restructuring And 125 Position Cuts

The Pichincha Prefecture announced an institutional restructuring on July 30, 2026, including the elimination and merger of directorates and coordination offices and the removal of 125 positions.

The prefecture attributed the move to reforms to the Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization, known as COOTAD. The reforms require provincial and municipal autonomous governments to comply with the Minimum Priority Allocation Rule.

The legal backdrop

The Constitutional Court has admitted a challenge to the COOTAD reforms, but it did not suspend their effects. The rules therefore remain in force and are binding on the autonomous governments described in the report.

Pichincha said it was applying a financial adjustment through the institutional restructuring. The process changes the organizational structure and reduces positions.

The 125-position breakdown

The prefecture’s breakdown includes the departure of 24 freely appointed officials, including directors and coordinators. It also includes the elimination of 87 staff positions, of which 25 correspond to employees who voluntarily requested to leave the institution. Another 14 workers are included in the total.

Together, those categories make up the 125 positions in the restructuring.

The prefecture said it allocated USD 4 million to cover the labor rights and benefits owed to people affected by the process. According to the institution, those amounts will be paid immediately under the applicable legal rules.

What is still unclear

The announcement did not describe a final organizational chart or identify any service interruption. That means residents should separate the confirmed staffing decision from assumptions about what happens next at individual offices.

For anyone dealing with a provincial-government process, the practical watch items are continuity, responsible offices, and updated contact information as directorates and coordination functions are merged or removed. The restructuring is now announced; its day-to-day effect will depend on the implementation.