Come next year, more than 50 employees of Tiffin Developmental Center could be laid off.
Friday morning, TDC employees were told they would be facing layoffs by Feb. 17 - with most cuts coming Jan. 6.
A representative of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities said Friday the cut would be about 49 employees, but as many as 52 positions could be on the chopping block.
The cuts are part of an initiative to reduce the number of individuals served at centers statewide.
Bruce Amory, president of Ohio Civil Service Employees Association Chapter 7410, said he expects 37 members of his union will be affected, as well as six members of other collective bargaining units at TDC and about nine exempt management positions.
Figures are not final, and cuts are dependent on seniority within collective bargaining units.
"It's a lot bigger than we thought it was going to be," Amory said.
TDC was set to lose about 60 employees over the biennium, not including some layoffs that occurred in July. Amory said Friday's discussions indicated further layoffs may not happen.
"There is no guarantee, but we're told this should take us though the biennium," he said. "We're going to hold them to that."
Although TDC is to lose about 30 residents over the biennium, Amory said he is concerned because the layoffs are to occur prior to the downsizing.
"These residents become accustomed to the people who work with them on a daily basis," Amory said. "We will have to keep an eye on how that will affect them."
Amory said employees were aware downsizing would occur and said the cuts are unrelated to the Nov. 2 general election repeal of Senate Bill 5, a bill that would have limited collective bargaining for public employees.
