Texas Medical Branch to Lay Off 3,800 Employees

Devastated by Hurricane Ike, the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston will lay off around 3,800 of its 12,000 employees, the Houston Chronicle reports. Officials said they did not know who would be laid off but did say they would be paid through January.

The September storm caused almost $710 million in losses to UTMB; only about $100 million is covered by insurance, and the program has been unable to make up the difference. "UTMB's current rate of expenditures, including the continuation of wages and benefits for faculty and staff who have not returned to work, exceeds revenues by almost $40 million per month," a statement said. "UTMB will deplete its financial resources and reserves in approximately three months, leaving the institution in the untenable position of having no funds to continue to operate."