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Roughly 50 students and workers rallied this afternoon at the University of California at Berkeley against planned layoffs and possible cuts to student services.

The protest started at noon at the Valley Life Sciences Building in the middle of the UC Berkeley campus and the group also protested outside of the Life Sciences Addition building. Other protesters handed out information to students on campus.

At the Life Sciences Addition Building, protesters rallied against the layoff of clerical worker Janette Reid, who has been with the university for nearly 33 years, Teamsters union representative Elise Magno-Jardinico said.

Reid is reportedly being let go because of a lack of money and a lack of work.  

University spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university could not comment on the layoff because they don't comment on personnel issues to protect the privacy of employees.  

The protesters called attention to the possible cuts to the Bear Walk program. The program pairs students with escorts who will walk them home to protect their safety.  

"That's on the chopping block," Magno-Jardinico said.  

Mogulof said no decision has been made about the Bear Walk program, but "everything is under consideration."  

"Every part of the organization is under scrutiny," he said.  

UC Berkeley employee Joseph Meyer said a friend of his came to the protest and told him she uses the service once or twice a week because of the numerous sexual assaults and other offenses that have occurred on or near campus.  

"One of the things you do not want to put on the chopping block is student safety," Meyer said. 

Magno-Jardinico said poor management of money by university officials is responsible for the planned layoffs and students and workers are not responsible for poor management. But students and workers are losing their jobs because of the poor money decisions.  

"Leadership put us in this position," Magno-Jardinico said.  

"We're facing a very large budget deficit," Mogulof said.  

He said revenue and money from the state has been steady while costs have gone up for things such as pensions and health care.  

The university will be cutting about 500 jobs, though a significant amount will be through attrition and retirement, Mogulof said. But he could not say how many jobs will be cut through attrition and retirement.  

At least six union workers have lost their jobs or have been given notice, Magno-Jardinico said. She did not know whether any workers who are not represented by a union have been let go.  

No faculty will lose their jobs, Mogulof said. 

Berkeley City Councilman Kriss Worthington, who spoke at the protest, said he highly recommends campus officials talk with students and workers about the layoffs to build a consensus to eliminate the deficit.  

He said if students and workers see a logical plan is in place, they will be more likely to support it.  

Currently, "the top down decision seems to place most of the cuts on the lowest paid employees," Worthington said.  

The goal of university officials is to balance the budget by the 2019-2020 fiscal year.