Recommended Layoffs By UT Task Force Being Implemented

Following an organizational assessment of The University of Texas (UT) System administration led by a task force of four regents, Chancellor James B. Milliken has begun implementation of the task force recommendations.

Three months after an internal report forecast the reduction of up to 110 jobs within The UT System administration, layoffs have begun, with some 65 positions cut this week and more layoffs expected in the months ahead.

About half of the 65 positions were openings that will remain unfilled, and the remainder were reductions in force, according Milliken. Over the coming months, the reductions could go further than the 110 number originally anticipated.

The Task Force Organizational Assessment released by the UT System on Oct. 18 found the annual savings for cutting 70 to 110 positions would be between about $9.6 million and $15 million.

The estimated cost-savings and reduction of personnel will not be determined until the additional reviews are completed over a period of several months.

The task force, assisted by a national management consulting firm, reviewed 16 departments, constituting more than half of the system’s workforce.

It proposed that while immediate reductions in staffing and operations in some departments could be implemented without a negative impact on services to campuses, a further review and analysis was required in some large departments to ensure that any planned reorganizations were implemented carefully and over time to prevent harmful disruptions in critical service to institutions.

The four departments undergoing this additional review are the offices of Facilities Planning and Construction, Employee Benefits, Shared Information Services and General Counsel.