Kirtland Air Force Base officials say nearly 2,100 civilian employees began taking unpaid days off later this week as a result of the federal government's automatic budget cuts.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Kirtland officials say the furlough day off each week through September amounts to a 20 percent pay cut.
Kirtland spokesman John Cochran says the furloughs don't affect active-duty military personnel or workers employed by the Department of Energy and Sandia National Laboratories.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.