The state sent layoff notices to 166 Department of Correction employees on Thursday, according to state government sources, and the layoffs are effective immediately.
The layoffs are part of the ongoing process of cutting jobs as the state faces a $922 million budget deficit.
It was not clear what positions the employees held.
“Connecticut’s correctional staff put their lives on the line on a daily basis to keep our prisons and our communities safe. It’s a shame Governor Malloy is playing politics with our lives and our futures instead of doing the right thing, which is to honor a contractual agreement that has benefited our state, and to find other ways of making government more efficient and effective," AFSCME Local 387 President Rudy Demiraj, AFSCME Local 391 President Collin Provost and AFSCME Local 1565 President Mike Tuthill said in an emailed statement.
"Laying off workers who defend and protect the citizens of our great state is an unacceptable alternative to doing the right thing. We will continue to fight the governor’s reckless layoffs and service cuts,” the statement said.
Hundreds of state employees have been laid off over the past two weeks.
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Jobs have already been cut from the Department of Children and Families, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Department of Social Services, Department of Economic and Community Development and the UConn Health Center.
Gov. Dannel Malloy released a new budget plan last week that included about 2,500 total layoffs.
