The City of Guelph is temporarily laying off 601 casual, part-time employees.

The layoffs affects workers in recreation services, such as school crossing guards and some library workers, the city said in a news release.

"This is not an action we wanted to take, but one we needed to as COVID-19 continues to affect our community and some of the services we're able to deliver," said chief administrative officer Scott Stewart in a statement.

The city said it will help these workers access government support services during their layoff period.

All city facilities such as arenas, pools, recreation centres, libraries, theatres and museums, are closed until April 30.