Here comes the pain: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday presented a budget for the next two years that eliminates more than 1,500 jobs, doubles the cigarette tax, freezes state wages and makes deep cuts to education, health care and public safety.

Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates said last night that they will not support amendments to the state’s two-year budget that do not pertain to core state services.

Bank of America Corp. said yesterday that it expects to eliminate 30,000 to 35,000 jobs in the next three years, as it faces a deteriorating economic environment and tries to absorb Merrill Lynch & Co. The target date for closing the deal with Merrill Lynch is Jan. 1. Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America said it hasn’t yet completed its analysis for eliminating positions, and a final number will not be determined until early next year.

Invista plans to temporarily halt nylon production at its Waynesboro fibers plant and lay off 210 workers. Plant manager Mike Laczynski attributed the decision to reduced demand for carpet. He said Invista intends to resume production and that the length of the shutdown would depend on market conditions. “While the decision to idle nylon production at the Waynesboro site is difficult, it is necessary given the rapid decline in demand for carpet,“ Laczynski said in a statement. “We must manage our business in line with current market circumstances.“

Free assistance for laid-off technology workers

A networking and outreach event for laid-off technology workers will be held Wednesday. The Tech Networking and Outreach Workshop is divided into three parts. One room will have about 30 companies that specialize in arranging consulting contracts or temporary and permanent placement. “They are folks who can actually help people with their search,“ said David Nelms, senior vice president of First Market Bank, which is one of the event sponsors.

Facing the prospect of cutting an additional $1 billion to $1.5 billion from the state’s two-year budget, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that the next round of cuts will include layoffs and reductions in funding for K-12 education. “I’ve done a number of layoffs already, and there will be more,“ Kaine said during his monthly call-in radio show on WRVA (1140 AM) in Richmond.

Facing the prospect of cutting an additional $1 billion to $1.5 billion from the state’s two-year budget, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that the next round of cuts will include layoffs and reductions in funding for K-12 education. “I’ve done a number of layoffs already, and there will be more,“ Kaine said during his monthly call-in radio show on WRVA (1140 AM) in Richmond.

DuPont has cut nearly 300 contractor positions at its Richmond-area locations in recent months because of the global economic slowdown, a company executive said yesterday. The local job cuts are part of a larger corporate work-force reduction of about 2,500 DuPont employees and 4,000 contractor jobs, primarily at the company’s U.S. and European operations.

After three Wachovia Securities executives were offered a chance to move to St. Louis or lose their jobs, they spent a lot of time at the library. Every Tuesday night the trio met, hopping from one branch to another. Borne out of those gatherings was Oyster Consulting LLC, a firm that works with brokerage houses and investment advisers to help them with compliance and technology needs.

You’re supposed to be one of the lucky ones. You survived your company’s recent round of downsizing. Then why do you feel sad, angry and scared? Here’s how to cope when co-workers lose their jobs. Know that your feelings are normal: Since December 2007, the number of unemployed persons in the U.S. has increased by 2.7 million. Those folks surely have had a harder time of it than their co-workers still with jobs.

Eight months pregnant, Keisha Snead got word in March that her job would disappear at the end of the day. Like thousands of others in the struggling economy, she was reduced to an uncomfortable status - unemployed. Job losses during the past year have shown no mercy, striking all levels, from data-entry clerks to department managers, from new hires to senior employees.

The Virginia Employment Commission reported 172,900 Virginians without jobs in October - 52,100 people more than the 120,800 unemployed in October 2007. (November figures will not be available until later this month.) The statewide unemployment rate increased from 3 percent in October 2007 to 4.2 percent in October 2008. Both figures are lower than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.4 percent in October 2007 and 6.1 percent in October 2008.