Albany businesses help furloughed base employees

ALBANY, Ga. (AP) Some south Georgia businesses are stepping up to help employees who are being furloughed at a local military base.

WALB-TV reports that civilian employees at Albany's Marine Corps Logistics Base are being furloughed one day a week for 11 weeks, which amounts to losing 20 percent of their pay.

The television station reports the Albany Chamber of Commerce is asking businesses to offer discounts to furloughed employees to help their neighbors. With a civilian workforce of nearly 3,000, base is one of the biggest employers in Albany.

The base's civilian payroll is $179 million. The furloughs amount to a cut of $7.6 million over the 11-week furlough period. Monday was the first furlough day for the employees, so the cut should start to show up in their next paycheck.