Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told state workers Friday he will order two-day-a-month unpaid furloughs for state employees and impose layoffs beginning in February to help the state save cash amid its budget crisis.

The furloughs would begin Feb. 1 and continue through June 30 for all rank-and-file employees, which unions estimate to be the equivalent of a 10 percent pay cut. Managers and non-union employees will receive an equivalent pay decrease starting the same day.

Schwarzenegger has instructed his Department of Personnel Administration to "initiate layoffs, reductions and other efficiences" to reduce costs by 10 percent starting in February. To do so, he will give one-fifth of state employees -- those with the least seniority -- notices that inform them they are at risk of being laid off, though it does not necessarily mean they will lose their jobs.

The governor told public employees in an e-mail shortly before 3:15 p.m. that began, "Dear State Worker."

"I regret having to take these steps, but I wanted you to hear directly from me about them so you know what to expect," the governor wrote.

Service Employees International Union Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker said Friday that she plans to file a legal action with the state Public Employment Relations Board charging that the administration is engaging in an unfair labor practice. Her union represents 95,000 state workers.

State leaders face a $40 billion budget gap over the next 18 months, and California could run out of cash as soon as February unless lawmakers and the governor take immediate steps to reduce the shortfall. Legislative Democrats approved a package Thursday that would have reduced the gap by $18 billion and averted an immediate cash crunch, but Schwarzenegger vetoed the plan because he said it did not sufficiently aid the economy or impose enough spending cuts.

Bruce Blanning, executive director of the Professional Engineers in California Government, whose union represents 13,000 engineers and land surveyors at Caltrans and other agencies, said the latest move is imprudent.

"We're in a time when we're trying to get federal money to build infrastructure and create jobs," he said. "Telling people to stay home two days a month does not seem to be a productive way to do that."

Schwarzenegger angered unions in late July when he signed an executive order that sought to reduce pay for about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour. The Republican governor said the move was necessary for the state to preserve cash in the midst of a protracted budget dispute. But unions filed lawsuits and state Controller John Chiang refused to implement the order, leading to a legal battle that remains unresolved. As a practical matter, the issue last year became moot once Schwarzenegger signed the state budget in late September.

Schwarzenegger last month proposed a one-day-a-month furlough, eliminating two state holidays and canceling overtime pay. Department of Finance projected that those measures would have saved the state $782 million through June 2010 had they began in December.

The governor now wants layoffs and a second furlough day on top of the proposals he already announced. The second furlough day alone would save the state an additional $639 million through June 2010.