KCET Channel 28 Pink-Slips 14 Staffers : Television: Slow economy blamed for the latest round of layoffs.

Public-television station KCET-TV Channel 28 on Monday announced that it has laid off 14 people and instituted other cost-cutting strategies in efforts to combat a $2-million shortfall in its budget projections this year.

The station eliminated 16 staff positions in several departments, including two positions that had been left vacant, said KCET President William H. Kobin. KCET in October eliminated eight other staff positions.

“These are very difficult decisions to make, but it’s directly related to the economy,” Kobin said, explaining that the moves were due to a slowdown in donations and gifts to the station. He said the station has a record number of subscribers, but that those viewers are giving less money.

“These are steps we feel we must take to operate in a productive and frugal manner,” Kobin said. “We’re watching our revenues and expenses on a day-by-day basis, and we’re continuing to modify. We’re taking steps that hopefully will not only help us have a balanced budget by the end of this fiscal year, but that will ensure that we have a healthy fiscal year 1993.”

The layoffs, which included cuts in the programming and finance divisions, among others, will bring KCET’s staff positions to 243, down from a high of 312 in 1990.

In other economy-related moves, Kobin added that the official workday would be expanded from 7 1/2 hours to 8 hours, and that employees would be given two “furlough” days in which they would not be paid. Those days would come during President’s Day weekend and Memorial Day weekend.

Also, the station’s advertising budget will be cut by $25,000, and there would be several fund-raising activities, including pledge drives, before the end of the fiscal year June 30.

“We’ll have individual pledge nights and special programs during which we’ll ask for pledges,” he said.

KCET had projected a $40.5-million budget at the beginning of this fiscal year.

Kobin said there would be no immediate or significant changes in programming: “Viewers should not notice any changes on the broadcast schedule.” He said no future projects were being canceled at this point, and that upcoming series, including the show designed for preschoolers, “The Puzzle Factory,” were proceeding as scheduled.

However, he said the number of documentaries produced for the local “Life and Times” series would be reduced from 28 to 25. “We’ll just have more repeats of documentaries we’ve already done,” he said.

Earlier this year, the station centralized its three production units to reduce expenses. The unification of the station’s local, national and educational enterprises helped the station run more efficiently, officials said.