Layoffs, California | featured news

San Bernardino must cut government spending by a third, almost assuredly resulting in widespread layoffs or pay reductions for city workers, as it prepares to officially file for bankruptcy protection, city officials said.

Stagnant revenue and rising employee costs threaten City Hall with a $222-million shortfall, official says. A proposal to outsource ambulance services provokes anger from firefighters union. Los Angeles' top budget official raised the specter of bankruptcy Friday in a sweeping report that calls for new taxes, possible layoffs and the privatization of some city services.

A California solar-panel manufacturer once touted by President Barack Obama as a beneficiary of his administration's economic policies -- and the recipient of a $535 million federal loan -- is laying off 1,100 workers and filing for bankruptcy.

Officials in Costa Mesa say they are just trying to solve a budget problem, but some see a political motive.