Malloy: Layoff Notices Being Sent Soon to a 'Very Substantial' Number of State Employees

HARTFORD, CT - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Wednesday that layoff notices will be going out to state employees likely over the next two weeks.

The layoffs are needed to plug a $900 million state budget deficit.

Malloy declined to reveal how many state employees are likely to lose their jobs, but CT News Junkie’s Christine Stuart cited the numbers will range between 2,000 and 3,000 state employees.

The layoffs also need to take place by June 9. Malloy would only say the number of employees laid off will be “substantial,” Stuart reported.

"It's a very, very substantial number,'' Malloy said twice, according to the Hartford Courant. "If you can retire, please retire and save somebody else's job.”

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It’s expected to take months to finalize the layoffs because of contractual obligations and bumping rights, the Hartford Courant reports.

State officials have called on union members to consider concessions, including health insurance and pension plans, but more than 300 union leaders rallied at the State Capitol Tuesday denouncing any concessions to a contract that they say is fair and in effect until 2022.

Union leaders denounced Malloy at their rally Tuesday but the governor said he understands and realizes the state’s current financial situation isn't “their fault,” the Courant reports.

Top Democratic and Republican lawmakers have said no one is contemplating raising taxes further to cover the deficit.

Read the full CT News Junkie story here.

Read the full Hartford Courant story here.