Layoffs Ahead?
Serco’s Employees Share In Unease Of Sequestration
Posted: March 13, 2013
HARRISONBURG — Serco has informed its Harrisonburg workforce that up to 75 employees could be laid off due to federal spending cuts known as sequestration.
The automatic reductions started to take effect March 1 after Congress and the White House failed to reach a deal to stop them.
Serco, like other federal contractors in the Valley, does not yet know how or if sequestration will affect its operations.
In a letter dated March 6 to Harrisonburg Mayor Ted Byrd, the Reston-based company says it has “no definitive information as to whether or the extent to which any layoffs will occur.”
Serco, which according to its website employs about 9,000 people in North America, provides information technology and management services to government agencies.
At its Technology Drive facility, Serco employs nearly 140 people, most of whom are patent classifiers supporting the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Federal law requires employers to give notice about potential layoffs under certain circumstances, said Candy Curtin, senior vice president of human resources for Serco.
“They’re conditional notices sent to employees based on what may happen, and not necessarily what will happen,” she said.
Harrisonburg Economic Development Director Brian Shull said rumors about impending cuts began to fly Tuesday morning, but there is nothing to indicate at this point Serco will need a mass layoff.
Contact Jeremy Hunt at 574-6273 or jhunt@dnronline.com
The automatic reductions started to take effect March 1 after Congress and the White House failed to reach a deal to stop them.
Serco, like other federal contractors in the Valley, does not yet know how or if sequestration will affect its operations.
In a letter dated March 6 to Harrisonburg Mayor Ted Byrd, the Reston-based company says it has “no definitive information as to whether or the extent to which any layoffs will occur.”
Serco, which according to its website employs about 9,000 people in North America, provides information technology and management services to government agencies.
At its Technology Drive facility, Serco employs nearly 140 people, most of whom are patent classifiers supporting the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Federal law requires employers to give notice about potential layoffs under certain circumstances, said Candy Curtin, senior vice president of human resources for Serco.
“They’re conditional notices sent to employees based on what may happen, and not necessarily what will happen,” she said.
Harrisonburg Economic Development Director Brian Shull said rumors about impending cuts began to fly Tuesday morning, but there is nothing to indicate at this point Serco will need a mass layoff.
Contact Jeremy Hunt at 574-6273 or jhunt@dnronline.com