The layoffs of four California State University, Fresno plant operations employees in December will result in delays in the response time to service requests, according to plant operations administrators.

The employees received notification in October of their impending layoffs.

In response to this year’s state cutbacks, the Unit 6 skilled trades staff voted in favor of inevitable layoffs over furloughs. Unit 6 includes electricians, plumbers, painters and other maintenance employees, except custodians, grounds workers and equipment technicians.

Rick Finden, associate director of plant operations, said that the Lock Shop would probably be affected most by the staff reduction. The Lock Shop takes care of all of the doors on campus.

Finden said there are approximately 22,000 keys, several thousand door locks and hardware, all of which need constant maintenance.

Finden also said that the Lock Shop’s staff was already small, so one less employee would be a big hit. Lock maintenance is a 24-hour operation, according to Finden.

“It’s going to be a real challenge,” he said.

The four layoffs included two painters, one carpenter and one Lock Shop employee. The retirement of a facilities worker brings the number of reduced workers to five.

Graffiti will still be addressed immediately, because it tends to grow exponentially, according to Finden. However, the layoff of two painters means that other painting needs may have to wait.

“We’re going to do our best to try to keep up on things, but it’s an old campus,” Finden said. “It’s wearing out.”

Gary Wilson, senior director for facilities management, said that the most obvious change would be delays in service. The real problem is the number of work orders, Wilson said.

“The misconception is, people turn in a work order, they expect it to get done like today or tomorrow,” Wilson said. “I mean we have over 50 buildings, you know?”

Wilson said that the campus’s facilities are so old that they need increasingly more maintenance.

“It’s nobody’s problem, but that’s our challenge,” Wilson said.

The maintenance orders will have to be prioritized with health and safety at the top, according to Wilson.

“We’re not going to cut back on the things that students need every day,” he said.

All of the work orders will get resolved eventually, according to Wilson. In the past, whole shops were reduced.

“In ’92, for example, the whole paint shop was eliminated,” Wilson said. “That’s a bigger impact. Where I’d have to say, ‘We can’t help you at all.’”

Wilson said that the most important point is that there still is a staff, and plant operations has the opportunity to prioritize work orders.

“It’s a state problem,” Wilson said. “It’s not [just] a Fresno State problem.”