N.J. May Have to Fire 200,000 Public Workers, Murphy Says

‘No amount’ of taxes, cuts will fill budget gap, governor says
Criticism for ‘certain myth’ that state shirked obligations

Watch: N.J. Governor Phil Murphy talks about how the coronavirus affected his state, the dangers he’s facing in reopening and how to safely reopen schools.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Elise Young and David Westin

May 28, 2020 at 10:26 PM UTC

Updated on

May 29, 2020 at 12:09 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

New Jersey may have to cut half its 400,000 state and local employees if the federal government doesn’t help make up a $10.1 billion revenue shortage through June 2021, Governor Phil Murphy said.

“I don’t think there’s any amount of cuts or any amount of taxes that begins to fill the hole,” Murphy, 62, a retired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. senior director and Democrat who came to office in January 2018, told Bloomberg Television.