UK laying off 140, not filling 164 other positions

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The University of Kentucky is laying off employees and not filing many open positions in efforts to close the $45 million annual budget shortfall.

Nearly 140 employees will be laid off, according to UK spokesman Jay Blanton.  Another 164 positions, 120 staff and 44 faculty,  will simply not be filled he stated.

According the Blanton, the university is facing a $45 million budget shortfall.  State  appropriations have dropped $20 million annually, and the university is facing $25 million in increase operating costs – such as increased utilities and financial aid costs.

Blanton said the combination of reductions will save $15 million annually from the general fund payroll budget.

“By no means will we close the entire hole. That is clearly the case,” Blanton said. “Right now what is happening is the individual departments and units across the campus are given a figure of what their cut is going to be, and it is up to them to figure out how they are going to manage with that pot of fewer resources and accomplish the mission they have. “

He said he expects the affected employees to be notified over the next several days.

“Department heads and managers are trying to move as quickly as possible,” Blanton said.

Blanton said the information from this series of cuts will be sent to the budget office and human resources to help formulate the budget that will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval on June 19.

“We are facing a challenging financial situation.  There are going to be reductions in this upcoming budget,” Blanton said. “The university is looking at further budget cuts over the next several months.  We’re trying to phase those in over the period of a couple of years, with the goal of protecting – as much as possible – teaching and patient care.”

Employees impacted will receive 90-day severance packages.

Blanton said that President Capilouto has communicated to department heads that those laid off are to be treated with appropriate care and compassion.

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto acknowledged reductions in the university workforce in a email distributed campus-wide at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Here is the full transcript of President Capilouto’s Tuesday email:

Dear Colleagues,

This week, we began implementing some of the tough decisions necessary in this challenging budget environment while minimizing the impact on our most important priorities as a university: teaching students and providing direct patient care.

As part of UK’s budget for 2012-2013, we’re providing 90 days of notice to those employees who are part of a reduction in workforce in various areas across the campus. I am urging deans, unit heads and managers who are administering this process to treat those impacted with dignity and compassion during a very difficult time for everyone involved and for our institution. Efforts also are underway to exercise options available to maximize access to benefits on behalf of those impacted.

These reductions in our workforce are in the wake of a $20 million reduction in state support for the 2012-2013 year and another $24 million in additional increases in fixed costs for items such as utilities, student financial aid, benefits and limited strategic investments.

In response, and in consultation with our Board of Trustees, we’ve sought to minimize the impact on teaching and those involved with direct patient care by directing deeper cuts for this year toward administrative units of 5.0 percent compared to 3.3 percent for academic and teaching units.

It is a painful exercise to implement significant reductions in our workforce. Our colleagues losing their jobs are both new employees and senior professionals and their contributions to the university have been valued.

But there simply is no way to patch over the holes in our budget with temporary measures or one-time sources of funds any longer.

We’ve dealt with $50 million in recurring reductions from the state since 2007. We also now face flat or declining federal support for research, low yields from short-term investment income, and continued increases in basic operating costs. We are no different in that regard from businesses and local and state governments across the country that have faced even deeper cuts over a more prolonged period of time.

Please know that we will work to keep you informed at each step of this process as we move forward in the midst of challenging times with a shared sense of commitment to a more promising future. Thank you for your hard work as we seek that future.

Eli Capilouto

President

University of Kentucky