Florida Braces For State Employee Layoffs

Florida's capital city is bracing for thousands of public employee layoffs due to spending cuts in the new state budget.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Florida's capital city is bracing for thousands of public employee layoffs due to spending cuts in the new state budget. The city joined with other governmental and private interests in the Tallahassee area Tuesday to launch a re-employment effort.

It features a website that includes job, networking and unemployment compensation information along with retraining opportunities. The site - www.bigbendworks.com - also has contacts for financial resources and social services including crisis counseling and food assistance.

Tallahassee Community College President Jim Murdaugh said the effort is aimed at private as well as public sector employees who lose their jobs as the spending cuts reverberate through the region.

Murdaugh said the cuts are expected to have a negative financial effect of up to $70 million in an eight county area.