Layoffs, Budget Cuts Loom For Mass.

Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to announce budget reductions Thursday afternoon to help close an estimated $600 million dollar spending gap.

For weeks, hundreds of developmentally challenged people who rely on state services have been coming to the State House to put a human face on the budget reductions. As the governor gets set to announce what steps he plans to take to close the deficit, he acknowledged the toll his actions will have.

"It's not that it's difficult as a math or accounting problem. I know how to do that. And I've got the very best advisers for that," he said. "It's difficult because I know there's a face or family behind every single one of those decisions."

The governor is expected to ask the Legislature for expanded power to make budget reductions. He also warned of up to 2,000 layoffs, unless state employee unions agree to furloughs or other cost-cutting measures.