NEXSTAR/WCIA-TV University of Illinois campus

NEXSTAR/WCIA-TV University of Illinois campus

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS -- There may be major layoffs at the U of I, and it's another side effect of having no state budget.



The University sent a notice to department heads of civil service jobs, asking them to do a head count. It's not known how many people will be let go, but there will be layoffs regardless.



These layoffs could affect thousands of employees across the campus--employees like lab techs, librarians, and office managers.



One union leader says employees were completely blind sided by the notice, and now don't know what to do moving forward.



On Tuesday, thousands of unionized employees at the U of I received a timeline that could end with unemployment.



Because of the state budget, or lack thereof, the university will lay off support staff, but Local 3700 Leader Ann Zettervall claims, the University said that wouldn't happen.



"They had been telling us even last week there would not be mass layoffs," said Zettervall.



To be fair, its not clear how many people will be laid off. The University is asking department leaders to see what positions they could eliminate. Unviersity Spokesperson Robin Kaler says this is standard procedure, but Zettervall says the lack of communication is upsetting.



"They should be keeping us in the loop. I know they don't want to scare people, but throwing it out there without warning is worse," said Zettervall.



Department heads are currently being instructed not to hire or fill current positions. Zettervall says as for the people most recently hired, they're at the highest risk for being laid off.



They don't have anything to fall back on, so if they get laid off their lives will literally be destroyed," she said.



University officials say they haven't made any hard and fast decisions yet, they'll see how many people they can keep employed.



The University wants department heads to send the names of employees they expect to lay off by May 16. Those layoffs will take effect August 27.