UMass Amherst to furlough 850 workers
UMass Amherst is furloughing more than 800 workers and permanent layoffs are expected soon as the state’s flagship campus works to close a projected $168.6 million loss in the operating budget amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly 850 employees, including dining hall workers and residence hall operations staff, will be placed on indefinite furlough effective Sept. 13, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy wrote to the campus community on Thursday.
“These staff reductions are an absolute last resort and the result of agonizing decisions,” he wrote.
Another 450 employees may be impacted by further cuts in the coming weeks, Subbaswamy said.
Thursday’s announcement about extended furloughs of staff does not include the chancellor or deans. In the spring, it was announced that the chancellor, deans and senior administrators were taking voluntary pay cuts through the end of fiscal 2021.
UMass Amherst is the latest Massachusetts’ college to face massive cuts amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Before the decision to implement furloughs, the campus had implemented a series of cost-reduction measures including: a hiring freeze for about 250 positions; a voluntary separation incentive program or “early retirement” program for about 250 positions; and deep cuts in discretionary spending, pay cuts for senior campus leaders, and trustee-approved access to the operating margin, the chancellor noted.
Those measures led to $120.8 million in savings to address the shortfall, but the campus still faced a $47.8 million deficit.
“While some permanent layoffs are expected in the coming weeks, we are doing everything possible to lessen the number of layoffs and are currently in discussions with other staff labor unions with the hope of reaching an agreement that prioritizes temporary reductions in hours and furloughs, which will likely impact approximately 450 additional campus employees,” Subbaswamy wrote in his statement.
“We are hopeful that an agreement can be reached and that the number of permanent layoffs, both unit and non-unit, can be minimized,” Subbaswamy added.