HONOLULU – Hawaii's budget woes will lead to the layoff of almost 650 state workers by the end of the year.
State Human Resources Department Director Marie Laderta said Thursday that 84 non-civil-service workers will lose their jobs Friday.
An additional 384 employees will be laid off a week later and a third batch of 181 by the end of the year, Laderta said.
In July, Gov. Linda Lingle said she wanted to reduce the state's payroll by 1,100 workers. But state law allows certain workers to "bump" those with less seniority. Another process permits workers to keep their salaries even if they wind up in lower-level jobs.
Lingle has said that a second round of layoffs is possible. The state's budget shortfall is estimated to be more than $1 billion through June 2011.
