Ohio said it expects to lay off nearly 1,000 workers as it prepares to privatize five of its prisons under Gov. John Kasich’s budget-balancing measure.
The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said it would eliminate 1,135 positions by the end of 2011, according to local reports. The department’s recent freeze on hiring means that actual layoffs will total around 950.
The state has said the prison privatization plan will generate $200 million in one-time revenue for the new two-year budget.
It is one of two privatization measures needed to balance the budget. The other features the long-term lease of the state’s liquor distribution system.
