Faced with a looming $530-million budget gap, the Los Angeles City Council voted today to initiate the layoff process for up to 400 city workers and eliminate 1,200 vacant positions.

The action allows the city's personnel department to begin the arduous processes of identifying which workers would be let go if layoffs were approved in the 2009-10 budget, which is still under consideration by the council.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks, chairman of the council's budget and finance committee, said the layoffs would be among many painful cuts the city would make to keep its $7-billion budget in balance.City officials also are locked in negotiations with public employee unions over a possible early retirement offer to eligible employees and possible wage and benefit concessions.

"It is critical not just for this year but for the long-term health of the city," Parks said. The council voted 9 to 2 to initiate the action, with council members Dennis Zine and Richard Alarcon voting in opposition. Representatives from the city's public employee unions opposed the measure, unsuccessfully urging the council to postpone any action until negotiations over an early retirement program are concluded.

"Everything gets hurt by this. It will lead to a demise to the services we provide, because you need people to provide services," said Roy Stone of the Librarians' Guild, which represents about 380 librarians in city libraries.

Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller told council members that even if an early retirement agreement was reached with the unions, the savings still would not be enough to make up for the $530-million budget shortfall in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

"The picture is not very bright at this point,' Miller said.