Midyear cuts force 420 state worker layoffs

More than 400 state workers are expected to be laid off because of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s midyear budget cuts.

Ray Stockstill, one of Jindal’s top budget advisers in the Division of Administration, told lawmakers Friday that an estimated 420 layoffs were expected after Jindal cut $107 million in state spending in October to close a budget deficit.

Many of the layoffs will be in the state health department.

The deficit was from the budget year that ended in June. Officials blamed lower-than-projected corporate tax revenue.