Facing continuing state budget cuts, the University of California, Berkeley announced last week that it is planning to lay off almost 150 of its employees. According to an article by Matt Krupnick in the Contra Costa Times:
Some of the workers have already been notified, university spokeswoman Claire Holmes said, and most will be let go by June. About the same number of jobs will be eliminated through other means, such as retirements and voluntary departures.
No faculty positions will be cut, but other layoffs will come from all areas of the campus. The reductions will create a “flatter and healthier organizational structure,” the chancellor wrote. The 21,000-employee campus has eliminated about 500 jobs in the past two years.
According to the Berkeley chancellor, a quarter of the 280 campus jobs that won’t exist next year are those with salaries in excess of $100,000 a year.
While college layoffs, especially those due to stingy state support for public higher education, are always regrettable (especially to those who are, well, laid off), this particular aspect of the cuts looks at least a little promising.
Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, who will be keeping his job, appears to earn about $450,000 a year.
The university expects to save $20 million through the job cuts. [Image via]
