[U]nder a new plan from the Shumlin administration, 14 Vermont state workers will be laid off in order to achieve a labor savings target set in the next fiscal year budget.
According to the Department of Human Resources, the reductions in force (RIFs) will be part of a total reduction of 62 positions, most of which are currently vacant.
The numbers are the latest development as the state works to realize a $10.8 million labor savings target in the fiscal year 2016 budget, which begins on July 1.
The number of employees to be eliminated is significantly lower than earlier estimates. In April, Secretary of Administration Justin Johnson estimated that there would likely be fewer than 50 RIFs.
Johnson said Monday that the administration worked with agencies and departments to reduce the number of RIFs by holding open positions that had become vacant during the legislative session.
The administration could also reduce RIFs by shuffling employees to fill new positions created in legislation such as the clean water bill.
“Obviously, the fewer number of actual RIFs we can do the easier it is on people,” Johnson said.
It is possible that there will be more RIFs, Johnson said, though he estimated it would likely be fewer than 10. It was unclear which departments will bear the brunt of the layoffs.
Tom Cheney, of the Department of Human Resources, said in an email Monday that most of the employees will have rights for re-employment. The administration will reach out to the affected employees and will work with them.
“From our perspective, this is not a victory but we do feel like we survived,” Steve Howard, director of the Vermont State Employees’ Association, said Monday.
The union was notified of the RIFs on Friday, and notices will go out to the 14 employees this week, though Howard said the VSEA has already been reaching out to them. The layoffs will be effective this summer.
Initial estimates on the number of reductions in force (RIFs) ranged much higher. A letter from Johnson notified state departments and agencies in March that between 250 and 325 positions would be reduced to reach the savings target.
Howard said that compared to earlier estimates, 14 RIFs is better than hundreds. However, he said that the VSEA continues to argue that layoffs are not a sustainable means of saving.
“We believe that RIFs are not a significant savings to the state budget. We think it’s not the best way to go about balancing the budget,” Howard said.
Howard cited testimony from the nonpartisan Joint Fiscal Office that showed that RIFs tend not to produce long-term savings.
Gov. Peter Shumlin initially put forward the $10.8 million in labor savings in the budget he proposed in January, spurring wide opposition from the VSEA. Lawmakers approved the labor cut in the budget they finalized last month.
The reductions, coupled with a retirement incentive and a plan to find general personnel savings from temporary workers and other sources, will collectively add up to a total $10.8 million cut to the state labor force.
The administration expects to save about $2.5 million through a retirement incentive for 300 employees that meet certain criteria. Of those positions, the state will hold about 225 vacant in order to save money.
An additional $2 million will come from various wage and benefit cuts to non-union employees, reductions in temporary workers and other savings.
