Fifty-two layoff notices were issued Wednesday, July 22, to employees at the five-prison complex in Kincheloe. Most of the layoffs, 48, are corrections officers and the remaining four are support staff.

Layoffs were made to employees with the lowest seniority at the Kincheloe correctional complex, Hiawatha Correctional Facility Warden Jeffery Woods said, after transfers of higher seniority employees within the complex were made. Higher seniority employees filled positions at the other four facilities in Kincheloe and around the state before layoff notices were issued.

The majority of employees were absorbed into the Chippewa Correctional and Kinross Correctional facilities within the Kincheloe complex ; 117 and 87, respectively. Six were transferred to Newberry Correctional Facility in Newberry, three to Huron Valley Complex in Ypsilanti, two to Alger Maximum Correctional Facility in Munising, two to Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco, and one each to the following facilities, G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson, Macomb Correctional Facility in New Haven, Mid- Michigan Correctional Facility in St. Louis, Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee, Pugsley Correctional Facility in Kingsley, St. Louis Correctional Facility in St. Louis, Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, and to the Region I offices in Kincheloe.

Mr. Woods announced that the Hiawatha facility will cease operations when it locks down its doors for good Saturday, August 8.

The number of employees to receive layoff notices came in at about half of what the warden originally anticipated. In early June, he said he expected up to 100 employees to be laid off by the time the prison closes. He does not anticipate a second round of layoffs.

"Right now, in this location in the Eastern U.P., we're not anticipating any other layoffs," he said. "As far as our corrections officers go, that should be it for the time being."

John Cordell of the Michigan Department of Corrections said the department is working with other state agencies, like Michigan Works!, to assist those who received layoff notices to find other employment as well as register for state unemployment insurance.

"We are working with other state agencies to see if there would be jobs within those agencies that those staff would be qualified for," he said.

The staff reductions are the result of a planned shutdown of eight correctional facilities in Michigan announced June 5 by the state corrections department to help balance the state budget, which is $1.4 billion in the red.

Three of the eight correctional facilities announced for closure by November 1 are in the Upper Peninsula, including Camp Cusino in Shingleton and Camp Ottawa in Iron River, as well as the Hiawatha facility. The remaining five facilities closing their doors in the next three months are the Muskegon Correctional Facility, Standish Maximum Correctional Facility and Camp Kitwen in Painesdale, Camp Lehman in Grayling, and Camp White Lake in White Lake.

The shutdown of the facilities will eliminate 6,400 beds in the prison system. Many non-violent offenders beyond their minimum sentence date in level one and two security facilities are also being considered for parole to reduce the overall prison population and reduce state prison spending.

Some of the 1,110 prisoners at the Hiawatha facility have been paroled, but Mr. Cordell and Mr. Woods did not know the exact figure.

"Paroles are made by the parole board and made on a caseby case basis," Mr. Cordell said.

Mr. Woods said the facility has been working to transfer the remainder of its prisoners to other facilities within the Kincheloe complex and around the state.

"Right now we're moving anywhere from 40 to 80 prisoners per day," he said. That daily figure will increase as the prison close date approaches.