5 a.m. Saturday (AP) — The head of the Kansas National Guard says officials will work closely with employees being laid off at maintenance facilities to help them find benefits and new jobs.

Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli said Friday the facilities in Salina and at Fort Riley are among five nationwide where the Defense Department has decided to cut spending. The sites rebuild and refurbish military equipment for the Defense Department.

Tafanelli says the Salina site is expected to close in January, eliminating 45 jobs. The facility at Fort Riley will remain open but lose 58 of its 137 jobs.

Tafanelli met with employees Friday to brief them on the reductions.

(AP) — The Kansas Adjutant General’s office says a reduction in federal funding will cause the loss of jobs in Fort Riley and Salina and the closing of a National Guard maintenance facility in Salina.

Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the adjutant general, says between 97 and 112 of the 182 jobs at maintenance sites in Salina and Fort Riley will be lost, and the facility in Salina will close.

About 45 people work at the Salina center. Watson says some of those jobs will be moved to Fort Riley.

The exact amount of cuts to the current $22 million annual budget for the facilities will be known at the end of the fiscal year.

The maintenance sites rebuild and refurbish military equipment for the Department of Defense.