CUNA terminated 18 people in its Madison office last week as part of a previously announced cost-cutting plan.
The cuts, which CUNA says are needed to close a $2 million shortfall, are on top of the eight layoffs the association announced in January. The layoffs affect people in areas such as administration, marketing and publishing.
Last month, the association said it would require all employees to take five days of unpaid leave between now and September. It is suspending contributions to employee 401(k) plans and also intends to make additional program cuts.
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CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica said in a statement that the cuts "will enable us to operate as a leaner organization more aptly suited to these difficult times, as more of our own member credit unions feel the economic strain that in turn affects their demand for our products and services."
The association has been hurt by the recession, which has reduced the value of its investments and lowered the income that CUNA receives from conferences, training programs and publications.
There were 810 paid attendees at last month's America's Credit Union Conference & Expo in Boston, compared with 900 at the 2008 conference.
CUNA's financial problems have been caused by a variety of factors, including severe losses in its defined benefit plan. Because of market losses, the association had to put in $9 million last year to meet the regulatory requirements. This year, it expects to add more funds because of market losses earlier this year. Also, CUNA will have to write off part of the value of its $940,486 share in U.S.
Central Federal Credit Union as a result of U.S. Central's conservatorship.
Last year, the association eliminated bonuses and froze salaries for senior managers and instituted a selective hiring freeze. Mica said he is contractually entitled to a bonus but has voluntarily given it up this year.
He earned $938,769 in salary from CUNA in 2007, the last year CUNA has made his salary public through its Form 990 submitted to the IRS. He also earned $197,000 from CUNA Strategic Services.
He received retirement benefits of $27,447 and expense reimbursements of $42,470.
Last year, CUNA's restricted net assets declined $7.9 million. It had $2.6 million in unrestricted assets at the end of 2008, compared with $10.6 million at the end of 2007. Its pretax income last year was $887,173 compared with $3.2 million in 2007.
Mica said additional layoffs or budget cuts are possible later this year, depending on the health of the economy and its impact on CUNA and its members.
Neither NAFCU nor NASCUS has laid off staff as a result of the recession, but they have said that they have cut expenses.
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