State says it wants to avoid HR employee layoffs

Personnel boss says he hopes to cut staff through attrition, reassignments

SANTA FE — New Mexico’s top human resources official vowed Wednesday that layoffs of state employees would be a last resort, as he faced pointed questions from lawmakers about a plan to consolidate personnel functions within state government.

State Personnel Director Justin Najaka’s comments came a day after he briefed several hundred state government human resources officials about the streamlining plan, which Gov. Susana Martinez ordered in February.

Although Najaka has described layoffs as a last resort in the effort, he acknowledged they are possible for an unspecified number of employees who work outside the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas.

The state has 263 human resources workers, and plans to cut the number to 238 under the reorganization plan, Najaka said.

Most of that reduction is expected to happen through attrition — including retirements — and reassignments of employees that could start happening by next month. “We’re going to try to avoid (laying off) any employees if we don’t have to,” Najaka said Wednesday during a meeting of the Legislative Finance Committee.

However, several lawmakers questioned parts of the plan.

Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, the LFC’s vice chairman, expressed concern about legal costs of potential grievances filed by any laid-off workers, especially those who have spent years on the job.

“I’m beginning to wonder how much we’re actually going to save,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, pointed out that Martinez’s second term as governor will end at the end of next year, saying, “If the system is going to work, it’s got to be longterm, and it’s got to last beyond this administration.”

Under the governor’s order, all personnel functions within state executive branch agencies will be consolidated within a single agency in an attempt to improve

efficiency and save “millions” of dollars.

However, state officials had been tight-lipped in recent months about exactly how many workers might be transferred or laid off and how the transition would be carried out.

During the meeting with employees, Najaka told them they will be sent a survey this week that will allow them to pick their preferences for job duties after the consolidation. Potential options will include working in a call center for state workers and handling employee training.

Other states have implemented similar consolidation plans, and Najaka disputed media descriptions of the effort as a potential “upheaval.”

“New Mexicans understand that bigger government isn’t the answer,” State Personnel Office spokesman Joseph Cueto said. “This consolidation will get New Mexico in line with national HR best practice.”