Layoffs at ORU

By Associated Press

Tulsa, OK – ORU laying off 124

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Oral Roberts University will lay off 124 employees as it contracts out facilities management and mail and copy services.

According to a statement from the school, Sodexo will become the university's facilities management provider and Pitney Bowes will provide mail and copy service beginning Nov. 1. The change is expected to save the university about $1.2 million.

Officials say Sodexo and Pitney Bowes will consider hiring some of the employees who will be laid off to fill positions arising from the partnership.

In January, the school laid off 53 employees and eliminated 40 more unfilled positions in an effort to reduce the annual operating budget by about $3.5 million.

The school has cut its debt from $55 million to $720,000 this past summer.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.