Citing a drop in donations and a declining economy, the Aloha United Way announced today that it has laid off four workers and was reducing the hours to its "211" confidential telephone service.

AUW said four full-time employees were laid off last Friday. Officials said AUW was forced to restructure the nonprofit organization in wake of the tough times.

One of the biggest changes is reducing the 211 phone service to a Monday through Friday operation. Off-hour calls will be handled through voice mail and a call-back system.

The program offers confidential referrals on issues from crisis intervention and counseling to job training, education and child care.

"While we are saddened to see employees go, the drop in our campaign donations and the current state of the economy made us look long and hard at our infrastructure here at Aloha United Way," the agency said in a statement. "The changes, while difficult, will help us achieve our key priority of maximizing donor dollars going to community agencies. We wish our employees only the best in their future endeavors."