. The austere measures are a bid by the government to stabilize a fiscal mess and save Puerto Rico 's credit rating . According to government figures , the U.S. territory faces a $ 3.2 billion budget deficit -- proportionally , the largest shortfall in the United States -- and is entering a fourth year of recession . The severity of the plan reflects the aftermath of what experts say is years , maybe decades , of the lack of a forward-looking economic policy . Confronted with the fear that the credit-rating agencies might reduce Puerto Rico 's rating to junk status , the administration of Gov. Luis Fortuno has taken strong , but controversial , steps . `` Every layoff letter has a name , and every name has a story , '' Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock said in an interview with CNN . But , he said , `` Doing nothing was not an alternative . '' The governor and other officials cut their salaries and trimmed spending in other areas , but the massive layoffs were necessary to avert the downgraded credit rating , McClintock said . `` If that happened , we would
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The bad news came via certified letter to Norma Jimenez , Edna Rodriguez and nearly 17,000 other Puerto Ricans this month . Thousands last week protest government layoffs in Puerto Rico . To cut spending , Puerto Rico announced last month that thousands of government employees would be fired in the second round of layoffs this year . More than 7,800 public employees were fired in March . `` I was fearful because of the uncertainty , '' Jimenez , 42 , an auxiliary administrator for the U.S. territory 's Department of Education told CNN . `` Will the letter come or not come ? '' The letter came , and it said that under a measure authorized by an emergency fiscal bill , her last day of work would be January 8 of next year . Rodriguez , who worked for the education department for 11 years as a receptionist , got the same letter , but with a November 6 termination date . `` It was as if the world collapsed , '' she told CNN . And presumably , so it goes for the thousands of other public employees who were laid off