Cuts will result in 20 to 30 layoffs

Cuts will result in 20 to 30 layoffs
 
By Joshua Wolfson
Casper Star-Tribune
Via Wyoming News Exchange
 
CASPER — Roughly 20 to 30 state workers will lose their jobs as a result of the state budget cuts finalized Wednesday, a spokesman for Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said.
The layoffs mark the first time since the 1980s that state workers will lose their jobs as a result of budget reductions. Past rounds of cuts were managed by eliminating vacant positions or by shuffling workers between agencies.
On Wednesday, Gordon finalized more than $250 million in cuts made in response to a massive revenue shortfall brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and a downturn in the energy industry that Wyoming relies on to fuel major parts of its economy. Gordon described the cuts as “agonizing” but noted he was required by the state’s constitution to balance the budget.
“I recognize the impact these cuts will have on Wyoming families and I am truly saddened that we had to make them,” he said in a statement sent out prior to his press conference.
The cuts include the elimination of 274 positions, Gordon told reporters at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. Of those, 247 are full-time positions.
That reduction will result in roughly 20 to 30 layoffs, Gordon spokesman Michael Pearlman said. The remainder of the positions are vacant.
The exact number of layoffs has yet to be determined, Pearlman said. That’s due, in part, to rules that allow workers with more seniority to avoid a layoff in favor of a worker with less experience, provided certain conditions are met.
The layoffs will affect full-time workers. They will receive as severance $1,000 for every year of service and six months of insurance. The state will also pay outstanding sick and vacation time.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Kevin Hibbard, the director of the state budget department, did not offer details about the layoffs, which have not been completed. He did note that a hiring freeze put in place earlier this year by Gordon lessened the number of workers who will lose their jobs as a result of the budget cuts.
Other reductions include 19 part-time positions and eight at-will contract worker positions.
The cuts announced Wednesday amount to a 10% reduction in state spending. But Gordon noted that another round of cuts is still to come.