Workforce Solutions East Texas plans to cut about 40 percent of its employees in response to two consecutive years of funding cuts.
"We've delayed the inevitable as long as possible," said David Cleveland, executive director of the East Texas Council of Governments, which oversees the agency's finances.
The agency's total budget, which includes funds it funnels directly into workforce programs, fell from about $30 million in fiscal year 2008 to about $24.8 million in fiscal year 2009. The agency has about $27.2 million in revenue for the 2010 fiscal year, but its budget includes about $5 million in stimulus funding.
Workforce Solutions East Texas provides services and training to people searching for employment in the area, according to its Web site. Its operating budget has fallen from $8.6 million in fiscal year 2008 to $6.7 million for fiscal year 2010.
Cleveland said about 50 of the agency's employees will be let go during the next several weeks. Workforce Solutions East Texas has 125 contract employees through Arbor Education and Training, a company that focuses on workforce development. The layoffs are expected to affect all 14 of the agency's workforce centers throughout ETCOG's 14-county region.
Cleveland said the reduction in staffing will require "adjustments" to continue the same level of service to job seekers.
"We're going to find a way to do it," said Sandra Taylor, Longview's workforce center system director.
Officials knew last year that the layoffs would become necessary, but they were able to delay the cuts because of the expected stimulus funding from government agencies. That money is beginning to run out.
"Our additional resources have dried up," Taylor said.
Agency officials have not determined which employees will be cut, but those employees will be offered two hours a day to search for new work and will have access to the agency's services, Taylor said.
Comments
By By Experience
Oct 27, 2009 2:43 AM | Link to this
Through my experience with layoffs, reduction in the Executive level is (and should be in this matter) the first to go. Also a reduction in expenses should have been considered first before other workers are cut. You have Managers making double or triple the amount of one worker. Before a mass amount of people are cut, one should consider that option first. Perhaps if some workers offered to work part-time should also be considered. In my opinion some lay offs could be avoided if there is effective financial forecasting. It puzzles me that nothing was done when the budget fell from fiscal year 2008 to 2009. This all could have been avoided. Was anything else being done to cut expenses during this time? What happened to the financial forecasting every quarter since fiscal year 2008? David Cleveland, you don't 'delay the inevitable for two years' without probing and scrutinizing unnecessary expenses instead of an influx of workers being laid off. Cuts should begin to those who oversee the company's finances!!!
By Buck
Oct 24, 2009 8:32 AM | Link to this
Well don`t look like things are getting any better when the employment office lays off.Not that they helped that much,but it`s still bad.
By John
Oct 23, 2009 4:49 PM | Link to this
The sad part of this is they are laid off but will still have to come in to work. With such bad unemployment They should be the last to be laidoff from there job helping people find jobs.
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F, except on Tuesday when it's open until 9 p.m.
Post a comment
*HTML not allowed in comments. Your e-mail address is required.