New Bedford City Council Shocked About Layoffs [AUDIO]

New Bedford City Councilors are reacting to the layoffs at a local job training center. New Directions, a subsidiary of the region's Workforce Investment Board, let go about one-third of its staff Thursday because of funding cuts. Councilor-at-Large Denis Lawrence Jr. tells WBSM News, he and other councilors were shocked to hear about the cuts.

Lawrence believes the New Bedford region was the only one in the state that saw cuts to its Workforce Investment Board. New Bedford currently has the state's 2nd highest unemployment rate at just under 10 percent.