Manteca’s biggest employer has given notice they may be laying off 320 plus workers.

That employer is the Manteca Unified School District.

The district last week issued more than 320 “pink slips” to certified teachers. Actually, they are notices that must be sent by March 15 if there is a chance that they may not have jobs when the next school year rolls around when instruction starts in August. How many jobs actually will be lost depends on the district’s financial situation.

The Manteca Educators Association is staging a Pink Friday Rally this Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the corner of Louise Avenue and Main Street to protest the state budget cuts that have triggered the layoff notices. Friday is the last work day that notices can be sent to certified employees statewide to give notice they may not have a job next year. Classified employees – janitors, bus drivers, aides, clerks, maintenance, and other workers such as in the cafeteria – do not need advance notice of layoffs under state law.

An estimated 2,100 of Manteca Unified School District employees work within the city limits. They account for 7.4 percent of Manteca’s daytime employment population that filled 66,451 jobs in the 2007-08 fiscal year based on data gleaned by the City of Manteca Community Development Department.

The rest of the top 10 employers in the city during the 2007-08 fiscal year in descending order were:

•Kaiser Permanente medical offices and hospital, 600 to 650 workers.

•Doctors Hospital of Manteca, 400 to 450 workers.

•Dirksen Transportation, 400 to 450 workers.

•City of Manteca, 400 to 450 workers.

•Wal-Mart, 350 to 399 workers.

•Advanced Packaging Distribution Specialist, 300 to 349 jobs.

•The Home Depot, 200 to 250 workers.

•Elegant Surfaces, 150 to 200 workers.

•Ford (parts distribution center), 150 to 200 workers.