Oklahoma City, Okla. — A shortage of funding is blamed for some layoffs at the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
They are planning to lay off about 250 employees, or 12 percent of its workforce, early next year amid a cash crunch at the agency.
Employees at the department were notified of the reduction-in-force plan via email on Wednesday.
He says the agency has asked the state auditor's office to conduct a special audit to examine its finances.
Department spokesman Tony Sellars says it's not entirely clear how the funding shortfall occurred, but he says it's unrelated to budget cuts as a result of declining legislative appropriations.
Sellars says it's likely most of the layoffs will happen at county health departments in communities across the state, although a final decision on which positions will be cut hasn't been made.