California pledged to cut 10,000 vacant state jobs. Why were only two-thirds eliminated?
The state narrowed its goal of eliminating 10,000 unfilled government jobs by over a third, the Finance Department said Friday, after the Newsom administration opted to preserve vacant positions related to public safety and emergency services.
California Director of Finance Joe Stephenshaw said 6,500 empty positions were eliminated as part of a planned vacancy sweep because, “We understood that those were resources that we did not want impacted.”
During a briefing on the state’s 2025-26 budget, Stephenshaw said that some vacant positions related to 24-hour staffing requirements within the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of State Hospitals have been kept on the books.
The Finance Department did not say when those vacant positions would be filled. The state said it saved $1.2 billion from agency budgets by not filling those positions.
The Finance Department provided an update to the vacancy sweep while previewing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed $322 billion budget on Friday.
A relieved union
One public sector union expressed relief that fewer vacant roles were cut than the administration previously targeted. Though Service Employees International Union Local 1000, the state’s largest public union, noted the remaining unfilled positions at the state leave a significant gap in staffing levels for essential services.
“Vacancies represent real work that needs to be done to keep our state running smoothly,” Anica Walls, president of Local 1000, said in a statement. “Eliminating these roles leads to increased strain on existing staff, reduced morale, and ultimately, diminished services for the public.”
Stephenshaw emphasized that the state wasn’t pursuing workforce reductions to the state’s firefighting resources while wildfires continue raging in Los Angeles County.
“Given the circumstances, we are exempting Cal Fire from any efficiency reductions and ensuring they have all the resources that they need as we move forward,” Stephenshaw said.
The Finance Department said Cal Fire is expected to grow by 700 firefighters in the current fiscal year as part of the adoption of a shorter workweek for employees.
Cutting unfilled state jobs was just one of the mechanisms the administration is pursuing to save money. The administration hoped to save $2.2 billion by telling departments last year to begin cutting nearly 8% of their operating budgets.
On Friday, the Finance Department said the state projected it would eliminate $1.5 billion this fiscal year through eliminating various operating expenses. Next year, the state projected it will save $2 billion in operating expenses, based on discussions with agencies and departments.
“That’s what’s reflected in the budget,” Stephenshaw said. “That’s based on those conversations and our understanding and what we think we can reasonably accomplish at this point.”
Corrections department savings
The budget overview didn’t break down how every state agency will achieve those projected savings. It did provide a detailed overview of how CDCR planned to achieve hundreds of millions of savings in the coming year.
The Corrections Department projected it would save $268 million in the current fiscal year, $186 million in following year and $194 million in ongoing savings. That saving is expected to come from shutting certain prison facilities, phasing out contracts and eliminating positions.
The corrections department closed several housing units at Calipatria State Prison, High Desert State Prison, North Kern State Prison, and Wasco State Prison, which are expected to achieve nearly $100 million in savings over fiscal year 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Through the elimination of 4,41.5 vacant positions, CDCR hopes to save $14 million. The department said it also plans to stop staffing public entrances at most CDCR institutions, which will cut 94 positions and save the state $27 million.
CDCR plans to reduce employee training to achieve $33 million in savings over two years. The budget document also proposed phasing out a contract with the Golden Legacy Care Center, which provides medical parole services, which is expected to save the state $18 million.
The department returned a one-time $114 million appropriation for replacing roofs on CDCR facilities. The budget proposal said replacing roofs in prison was still a priority and CDCR will still pursue the most critical repair projects.
While the prison system’s budget is shrinking, the Finance Department estimated that the inmate population would increase by 1,600 in the next fiscal year due to November’s passage of Proposition 36, which increased penalties for theft and drug crimes. The state’s average prison population is estimated to be 91,672 this fiscal year.
“We will have to continue monitoring the exact impact of Prop. 36,” Stephenshaw said.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM.
