County Executive Jack B. Johnson of Prince George's County, Maryland announced today that the county hopes to save $4 million dollars through layoffs, in an effort to compensate for the $22 million cut in state funding. Union leaders were informed in a meeting Tuesday that $4 million worth in layoffs would be made, but how many layoffs that meant was not specified. Nor were the departments which would be affected made clear. Johnson did say that laid-off employees would be notified by Oct. 1st, and expected out by Nov. 1. He is expected to announce exactly whom will be affected later this week. Some union officials are angry that the County Council decided not to tap into it's reserve fund to deal with the unexpected budget cut, but county officials maintain that to do so would be irresponsible.
See "Union Head: County hopes to save $4 million through layoffs", Jonathan Mummolo, The Washington Post, September 14, 2009