Romania to lay off 60,000 in public sector

BUCHAREST - In a bid to cut administrative costs, the Romanian government has decided to lay off 60,000 public sector employees.

As many as 54,000 people will be laid off in local governments, while the rest will be dismissed from the ministries of interior, labour, education and agriculture, Interior Minister Vasile Blaga said after an emergency meeting held Wednesday night.

The move is part of the government’s measures to keep the budget near the target of 6.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) stipulated in the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for new loans, Xinhua reported.

Romania is in a deep recession and signed a 20-billion-euro IMF-led rescue loan in 2009 in a bid to overcome the crisis.