SIU announced yesterday that it will lay off 77 employees.

The layoffs 51 civil service employees, 24 non-tenure faculty members and two administrative professionals.

The cuts are part of a planned 19 million in budget cuts announced in March. $10 million of the cuts came from not filling vacant positions, university officials said, but the layoffs could not be avoided.

A state budget crisis and continued declines in enrollment have prompted slashing of the budget at SIU C.