The governor’s office said the notice does not mean employees will be laid off “at this time,” and according to press secretary Troy Torres, plans are still being developed. By law, if layoffs are planned, a general notice must be given to all employees. Torres said he did not have a number as to how many GovGuam employees will be adversely affected, nor how many layoff letters will be sent out.
Department and agency heads submitted assessment plans to the Department of Administration for approval last week. DOA will now evaluate the plans and impacted positions. On Saturday, department and agency heads met with Gov. Eddie B. Calvo and senior staff. Calvo is expected to receive completed plans for reorganization by Wednesday for his approval.
The cabinet met last week with the governor to present their summaries of organization assessment plans, including cost and program reduction.
The evaluation will include the classified employees holding these positions, and layoffs shall be based on the retention register that includes seniority and performance evaluations, according to the governor’s office.
While the governor has the Organic Act authority to eliminate positions, DOA’s Human Resources Division will determine which employees within a department will be adversely impacted. Every effort will be made to provide placement assistance to impacted employees, according to the governor’s office.
Sen. Ben Pangelinan has criticized the process by which Calvo informed the thousands of GovGuam employees that would be impacted.
“Announcing something like this without knowing what to do is not positive. You’re scaring the people. You’re scaring our investors. You’re not building any confidence with our move towards financial stability or financial restructuring that will be positive to the community because nobody has any details. I think he needs to be a little bit more open, number one; and secondly, he needs more of the details before he throws something out there,” said Pangelinan.
