The World - News from Nov. 11, 1987

A Soviet newspaper disclosed that 60,000 workers in Moscow-based ministries will be fired in the next two years under Kremlin leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s campaign to streamline government by cutting 50% of all ministry jobs. The newspaper Socialist Industry said the order to eliminate every second government job by 1990 has resulted in turmoil in the ministries, with tearful employees lining up to appeal their firing orders. The ministries previously dictated day-to-day operations for all Soviet industries, but Gorbachev’s perestroika campaign to restructure the economy has given more decision-making power to factory and enterprise managers.