Gov. Terry Branstad said today that recently hired state employees could face losing their jobs.

Last year, more than 2,000 state workers accepted an incentive package to retire early, and former Gov. Chet Culver replaced employees in positions he considered essential. Branstad, speaking at his first weekly press conference today, said that he and his newly appointed department heads will go through the “somewhat painful” process of determining: “Is it absolutely necessary to hire back these people?”

Branstad said it would be much easier to lay off recently hired employees due to a six-month probationary period, whereas laying off established employees is a complicated procedure.

“I can’t help what’s happened in the past, but I came here to correct this mess and to straighten out the financial situation in this state and make sure that we have a sustainable budget for the long term,” he said. “That’s just the situation we have to deal with, but we are going to try to do it in the most fair and thoughtful and humane way possible. But we are going to do it.”

Branstad also said he will undo some of the $84 million in state budget cuts that Culver ordered two weeks ago, which Branstad said disproportionately affected the Department of Human Services and Department of Corrections.

The governor will submit a fiscal year 2012 budget to the state Legislature by Jan. 27.