Crippling. Who is crippling whom?

"The city rolls are replete with people who've done the same thing that Paul has," said Len Sweeney, his attorney. "If they suspended every city employee who was arrested, it would have a crippling effect on the workforce."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09193/983409-53.stm#ixzz0L4gsTYNa&C

Does the work force cripple the city? Or, would a work force without legal hangups be so thin as to cripple the city? Or, do laws that punish without victims cripple society? Or, is the city work force and the sheer size of government so massive that the economy is crippled due to government sprawl?