Layoffs loom for 7,000 state workers

Gov. Jon Corzine will threaten to lay off 5,000 to 7,000 state employees if their unions do not agree to a wage freeze and furloughs starting in July, according to three people who have been briefed on the governor's budget plan.

Corzine will lay out the issue in his budget address on Tuesday, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the governor's plans.

The wage freeze and 12 days of unpaid furloughs, one each month, would save a combined $400 million, according to an administration official.

Corzine has said he will turn to layoffs if unions do not agree to those steps, but he has not disclosed the number of employees who would lose their jobs.

Each department within state government was given a number or percentage of employees that would have to be laid off and was asked to prepare a list of positions for Corzine by March 20, the sources said.

The furloughs could affect about 80,000 state workers if applied across the board. Corzine has already ordered a two-day furlough, one in May and one in June, to save $35 million in the current budget.

"If we don't get cooperation, we will have to go to layoffs," Corzine said during a radio interview Tues day. The governor did not say how many layoffs were planned and said he prefers furloughs.

"We have some people who think that that's harsh. I think that what we're trying to do is keep people at work," he said.

The governor's office had no immediate comment on the layoffs last night, but it has previously said "everything is on the table" in budget talks.

New Jersey's largest state worker union, the Communications Workers of America, has fiercely opposed the furloughs and wage freeze.

"State workers understand that everybody has to do their fair share to solve this historic budget crisis," CWA spokesman Bob Master said. "But public threats and ultima tums are counterproductive to the process, and we continue to believe that sacrifice needs to begin at the top with the wealthiest New Jerseyans doing their share."

In recent days, CWA Local 1032 distributed fliers calling for workers to resist the two furlough days in May and June.

"Some members may think that if we accept these furloughs, his proposals for a wage freeze, additional furloughs, or layoffs will go away. Nothing could be further from the truth," the flier says. "The governor is still demanding we agree to a one-year wage freeze be ginning July 1, 2009, or as many as 12 furlough days -- equivalent to a 4 percent pay cut -- or face thou sands of layoffs."

The layoffs, furloughs and wage freeze are among several options Corzine is weighing as he tries to close a $7 billion budget shortfall. He also is considering hiking the cigarette, wine and liquor taxes and imposing a 5 percent sur charge on taxes paid by residents with incomes of $250,000 or higher.

The governor said Tuesday no final decisions have been made.

The budget is expected to be about $29 billion, down from the $32.9 billion plan Corzine signed last June.