Governor says he'll release state layoff plan next month

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Gov. Don Carcieri says he's still working on a plan to lay off 1,000 state workers, and aims to announce details in the next month.

The governor said earlier this year that he'd have to cut 1,000 jobs, or roughly 7 percent of the state work force, to help deal with a $450 million budget deficit. He didn't offer details at the time.

Carcieri spokesman Steve Kass told WHJJ-AM that the entire state work force is being scrutinized and agencies could be eliminated entirely.

Carcieri recently said that over the next month, he wants to complete a detailed layoff plan. He predicts the layoffs will save the state about $66 million dollars for the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years.