ST. LOUIS COUNTY — The University of Missouri-St. Louis laid off about 40 facilities staff members and will outsource its custodial, maintenance and groundskeeping services, school leaders said this week.

The switch to one vendor, HES Facilities Management, will start Nov. 1.

"This change is a focused initiative designed to strengthen a specific area of operations. While we continue to look for ways to improve, there are no immediate plans for further changes of this nature. Our goal is to ensure long-term sustainability of facilities while supporting our core mission," reads an email sent Wednesday to university staff from Tanika Busch, vice chancellor for finance and administration and chief financial officer, and Matt Prsha, executive director of UMSL facilities management.

The moves

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