WVU says 450 employees express interest in voluntary job buyout | WVAH

http://wchstv.com/news/local/wvu-says-450-employees-express-interest-in-voluntary-job-buyout

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — A West Virginia University official said Tuesday that 450 employees expressed interest in a voluntary job buyout option, and the school will now study the jobs of each of those employees before any offers are made.

“Our ultimate goal is to get between 100 and 150 people to accept an offer,” said Rob Alsop, vice president for strategic strategies at WVU.

WVU employees with 20 or more years of service as of March 31 are eligible to resign or retire under the school’s voluntary separation incentive plan, according to the university’s website. Employees had to express interest by May 10.

During the summer, Alsop said, university officials will study the positions of those who expressed an interest in the buyout option to see if those jobs could be eliminated through restructuring. He said not everyone will receive a buyout offer.

Buyout offers will likely go out in August or September, and employees will have 45 days to make a decision, he said.

Employees who get buyout offers would have two options – those who separate employment on Dec. 31, 2019, would receive a lump-sum payment equal to 100 percent of their annual base salary, and those who separate from WVU at the end of their fiscal year 2020 appointment or June 30, 2020, whichever comes first, would receive a lump-sum payment equal to 50 percent of their annual base salary.

University officials said about 1,300 employees qualified for the program.

Alsop said the school came up with the buyout option idea after looking at next year’s budget and determining that expenses needed reduced by $14 million to $15 million. If the goal of 100 to 150 employees is reached with the buyout option, the savings to the university would be about $7 million, Alsop said.

“It was part of the overall strategy to manage our costs and keep the burden on our students as low as we can,” Alsop said.

In April, WVU announced that tuition and fees are going up for in-state undergraduate students and out-of-state students. The Board of Governors OK’d an increase of $60, or 1.36 percent, per semester for in-state undergraduate students and $180, or 1.44 percent, for out-of-state students, according to a news release from the school.

Submitted May 21, 2019 at 03:56PM by MountainsMan55 http://bit.ly/2WfqUsZ