UW’s Cross Says Layoffs Likely Unavoidable With Budget Plan As-Is

University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross said he’s not sure how the UW can avoid layoffs if Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget becomes law.

Cross told Wisconsin Public Radio Thursday morning that UW leaders would work with legislators and the governor to try to reduce the $300 million cut.

But if the cut does go through, Cross said some campuses have 80 percent of their budgets devoted to the employees who work there.

“With that much of what you spend invested in people, it’s impossible not to reduce the number of employees with this kind of a cut,” he said.

Cross said the UW would try to minimize the effects of any budget cuts on classroom instruction but that it was possible that they would make it harder for some students to graduate on time. While the proposed budget would also give the UW more flexibility, Cross said the University would not use that power to dismantle faculty tenure or shared governance.