Corrections begins trimming staff as state prisons shed inmates

This week, about 26,000 workers at state prisons and parole offices will get layoff warnings, as the state hands responsibility for low-level felons to the counties and the California Department of Corrections begins to downsize.

The Department of Corrections employs 68,000 people to guard and care for more than 145,000 inmates – plus thousands of parolees. But soon, the department won’t need as many guards as it begins to whittle down the number of prisoners they oversee.

Corrections personnel chief Robert Downs can’t say yet how many workers will lose their jobs, though he expects to cut 3,000 positions by February.

"And because of that, we’ve started out by noticing any employee with less than 10 years service to cast a wide net," he says.

Downs says most will be prison guards since they hold most of the jobs, but layoffs could include administrators, custodians, cooks, dentists and psychiatric staff.

Six unions agreed to a deal that gives senior Corrections employees first crack at vacancies, although there are only 800 vacancies now.

They can also work as fill-ins so prison staff don't run up costly overtime.