Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story should have reported that human resources staff are reaching out to furloughed employees to offer assistance. The story below has been corrected.
University of Colorado Boulder is furloughing 498 employees and has laid off 10 people because of lack of work and financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The furloughs are spread across 13 departments, with furloughed employees working in Imaging Services, Transportation, the College of Music, Parking Services, the Biofrontiers Institute, the CU Book Store, Continuing Education, Student Affairs, International Student and Scholar Services, Education Abroad, Athletics, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Children’s Center.
CU Boulder, which employed 9,981 people as of the fall 2019 campus census, could not immediately provide information about which departments laid off employees. Four people were previously laid off in the Education Abroad office.
“Layoffs are considered a choice of last resort and we anticipate they will occur rarely,” Chief Human Resources Officer Katherine Erwin said in an emailed statement.
The furlough and layoff totals are current as of Thursday, spokeswoman Melanie Marquez Parra said. The 498 furloughs began on Monday, with more of them going into effect on Monday, June 1.
Most of the furloughs occurred in departments supported by auxiliary revenues, Erwin said, which include events, student housing, dining and on-campus parking.
Employees who were unable to work on campus during the pandemic and couldn’t work remotely were initially placed on paid administrative leave when CU Boulder began to drastically reduce on-campus operations in March.
“Many of these employees support the student living and learning experience or campus events and without the majority of students to support or large gatherings to manage, their work has decreased significantly,” Erwin said. “Our plan is to return these employees to campus in the fall to once again fulfill these roles based upon student enrollment and a return to more normal operations.”
CU Boulder and the entire University of Colorado system is facing significant funding cuts and increased costs related to the pandemic. The state’s Joint Budget Committee recently cut 58% of the higher education budget, though federal pandemic relief funds may soften the blow.
CU’s Board of Regents is set to vote on budgets at its June 18-19 meeting.
CU Boulder Human Resources has implemented an outreach program to support furloughed employees, Erwin said.
Human resources staff are reaching out to each furloughed employee to help them apply for unemployment and the campus’ Staff and Faculty Emergency Fund, as well as to provide translation and interpretation services and to make referrals to the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program.
