When you walk into a restaurant free of cigarette smoke, one of the organizations you can thank is the local American Lung Association, which lobbied for years for Virginia’s smoking ban. But like other large health-related nonprofits, the organization is seeing its budget shrink. The Lung Association is cutting staff and eliminating some programs as grants have fallen off and donations, trending down for some time, only recently started to bounce back.

First Market Bank officially told the state last week that it will lay off 26 people. The jobs affect people who work in the bank’s operations center. The positions are being eliminated as part of the bank’s merger with Union Bankshares Corp. G. William Beale, chief executive officer of the newly formed bank holding company, Union First Market Bankshares Corp., said yesterday that the layoffs are part of a total 72 job eliminations.

West Corp. will close its call center in Hampton by March 31, laying off 450. The Omaha, Neb., company announced the closing yesterday, citing cutbacks by businesses that use the center to handle customer calls. A spokesman said some of the workers will be invited to apply for positions at the company’s 47 global call centers. The Hampton call center opened in 1996.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is closing a catalog call center in Chesterfield County in March and laying off about 250 people in a region already hit by high unemployment. The center, on Alverser Drive near Chesterfield Towne Center, primarily handles catalog orders. But a decline in call volume in recent years is forcing Penney’s to close the center, company spokesman Tim Lyons said. The chain is keeping open its four other call centers elsewhere in the country.

Metro says it may have to lay off more workers than previously expected because of a budget shortfall.

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, a sign the job market is healing as the economy slowly recovers.

During a rally yesterday protesting the forced retirements and layoffs of hundreds of workers at Verizon Communications, Del. Joseph D. Morrissey criticized the company for cutting employees while earning billions in profits. “I find it terribly unfortunate that a company that has made $12 billion in two years would cut 1,000 jobs,“ said Morrissey, D-Henrico. “Good companies concentrate on making profit for their shareholders but they’re mindful of keeping people employed in their communities.“

Shelia White was at work behind her desk at Virginia State Police headquarters in Chesterfield County last Monday at 6:30 a.m., bright and early as usual. And, as usual, there was plenty to do at her post in the Police Academy building: reams of paperwork and reports for the trooper recruits and the tactical-operations division, and correspondence with other law-enforcement agencies.

AOL Inc., the struggling Internet company, plans to cut about a third of its workers if its planned spinoff from Time Warner Inc. goes through.

Alcoa Howmet is laying off 250 workers, or nearly a quarter of its work force, at its Hampton manufacturing plant.

Two Southside Virginia furniture manufacturing plants are laying off workers. Bassett Furniture Industries said it will close its fiberboard manufacturing plant in Henry County by the end of the year, ending 45 jobs. Bassett officials made the announcement Thursday. President and CEO Robert H. Spilman Jr. said the local demand for medium fiberboard has been depressed and no longer supports keeping the plant open. The plant began production in 1970.

Educational Credit Management Corp. plans to close its office in Chesterfield County and lay off all 60 employees, the nonprofit agency said yesterday. They will lose their jobs Dec. 1. Educational Credit Management has been insuring loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, as well as servicing other guarantors’ loans when a borrower files for bankruptcy, but the federal government now is taking over insuring student loans, spokeswoman Marianna O’Brien said.

About 200 temporary and wage workers are being let go to save $2.3 million. The Virginia State Police will absorb the brunt of the part-time cuts with a reduction of 104 non-sworn employees.

Those who survive the ax will be furloughed for a day and take a hit on their state-funded pension next year.

About 85 employees at Genworth Financial Inc.‘s corporate offices in Henrico County were told Tuesday that their positions are being eliminated. The insurance giant is shifting some of its back-office functions in its annuity business to Lynchburg as part of Genworth’s ongoing review of its operations, spokesman Al Orendorff said. About 40 of the jobs will be transferred to Lynchburg, where the company is expanding its call center operations. Those employees will have the option of moving.