Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei announced Thursday he is cutting 65 full-time and part-time town employees.

Tesei says the notices that were received by all but two employees were a result of the economic crisis. The cuts will allow the town to save $3.6 million.

"The realities are we've squeezed the non-salaries of the budget to the point where we have no other place to look," Tesei says. "The employees are where the costs are."

There were 41 full-time jobs cut with 27 layoffs. There were also 12 vacant positions eliminated. There will be two additional full-time jobs cut in July. Part-timers also took a loss as 19 employees were let go and five vacant positions were cut. The part-timer cuts were the equivalent of 11 full-time jobs. Some of the employees, who received notice Thursday, were in shock.

"Disappointment, a lot of disappointment right now," employee Gordon Elam says. "Went to work this morning not expecting what we got today at 11 o'clock. Got called into human resources and as soon as they told us that. We knew my job was up for grabs. They were taking it away."

Tesei says that future job losses will be unlikely if the unions and employees agree to a wage freeze.