The Moore administration plans to slash about $121 million from the state’s personnel budget through a combination of buyouts to state employees, a hiring freeze and elimination of at least 150 vacant positions, officials said Tuesday.
The measures were announced in a “Dear colleagues” letter from Gov. Wes Moore (D) to state employees that was sent at noon Tuesday.
“We are moving with care and intentionality to minimize impact on current employees and be transparent throughout the process,” Moore wrote in the letter.
Moore Chief of Staff Fagan Harris said in an interview with Maryland Matters that state officials have been trying for weeks to come up with a plan to get the savings from the state’s general fund, in accordance with the fiscal 2026 budget that the governor signed in May.
“It’s going to be all of these things that help us get to the number, ultimately,” Harris said.
As recently as two weeks ago, the administration was looking at layoffs of current workers as part of the budget-cutting mix, an administration official said at the time. But Harris said Tuesday that they were ultimately able to stop short of actual layoffs.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Christine Condon over at Maryland Matters
