LANSING, MI — Thousands of state workers will return to the job next week after a temporary lay-off issued as a side-effect of the state’s efforts to slow the coronavirus’ spread.
About 3,000 of Michigan’s 48,000-person workforce was temporarily laid off in April. For most, the 10-day layoffs end Friday, State Budget Office spokesperson Kurt Weiss said in an email.
Layoffs will be extended for at least another week for approximately 900 Michigan Department of State employees, mostly those who work in Secretary of State branch offices that remain closed.
The layoffs, though difficult, will help cut costs as state revenues drop, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said.
«We will continue working on a plan to reopen branches and get our employees back to work as soon as we are safely able,» she said in a release.
Thousands of workers were laid off in April because there was not enough work for them to perform from home, where most have been reporting for duty since March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spokesperson Tiffany Brown said. The layoffs saved the state about $5 million.
