The University of California, Berkeley will eliminate about 500 employees over two years to help balance its 2019-20 budget.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports Chancellor Nicholas Dirks sent a memo to employees Monday informing them there will be a 6 percent reduction of the staff workforce. Faculty members will not be affected.

Dirks said the reductions will be done in part through attrition and did not mention layoffs.

Berkeley employs about 8,500 staffers, from custodians to administrators.

The job elimination message comes as the campus is projecting a deficit of $150 million this fiscal year — 6 percent of its operating budget of $2.5 billion.

Campus officials have blamed the deficit largely on state allocations that have not kept pace with campus needs.