AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) – UMass Amherst is moving forward with its plans to restructure the university’s Advancement Division by moving positions to the UMass Foundation, a private nonprofit.

A message sent to Advancement staff by the UMass Chancellor on Monday told employees that non-union workers would be able to remain at the university by filling positions in other departments while union members who choose not to become private workers will be laid off.

UMass says that a key issue was compliance with the state’s retirement system that had the potential to impact pensions of some employees.