Tampa nonprofit laying off 150 employees due to state funding cuts

Lutheran Services Florida is cutting about 150 employees after it was notified that what it had expected in funding from Florida’s Department of Children and Families would be “significantly reduced.”

In a letter sent to state officials to alert them of the looming job cuts, the Tampa-based nonprofit writes that the affected jobs are in its Comprehensive Refugee Services operations at 3625 W. Waters Ave. in Tampa and will begin Sept. 30.

Lutheran Services writes that it was recently notified that the “anticipated and expected funding from” DCF was being reduced starting Oct. 1.

“This announcement is in direct contradiction to previous requests made by DCF to greatly expand our operations, just three months prior to this notice,” an attorney for the nonprofit writes in the letter. “LSF is unable to determine the permanency of these layoffs due to uncertainty from DCF on the level of funding, if any, moving forward.”

(The letter was sent to meet federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification requirements.)

A Lutheran Services spokesperson says in a follow-up email that questions about how funding levels were determined should be directed to DCF. 

A DCF spokesperson wrote in an after-hours email Friday evening that team members needed to pull the contract to ascertain the funding details would not be available until Monday.

According to a story posted on Lutheran Services’ website about two young immigrant women who participated in the refugee service program, it is designed “to provide wraparound services to make sure the entire family was comfortably integrated in America and set up for a successful life.”

Lutheran Services, according to its website, operates more than 65 programs throughout the state and employs 1,600. The organization has $106.6 million in assets and $86.4 million in liabilities, according to its most recent public tax filing.