Yahoo Money 'Extremely cruel move:' Jobless workers brace for early end to unemployment benefits in 25 states

On Saturday, the $380 in weekly jobless benefits Robyn Gregorieff and her husband had depended on for basic needs is getting slashed by 79%, leaving the couple with just $80 a week to live on.

She would have been entitled to the larger amount until September if her home state of Alaska didn’t cancel federal unemployment programs early due to mounting concerns over labor shortages.

“It makes no sense because the federal government is paying that,” the 43-year-old Gregorieff told Yahoo Money. “Why would you just take it away besides just to be cruel? The jobs aren't magically going to appear.”

Gregorieff is one of 300,000 workers in Alaska, Iowa, Missouri, and Mississippi who will see their benefits significantly reduced or cut to zero starting June 12. Another 4.2 million workers in 21 more states will join them later this month or in early July when their states eliminate the benefits, too, cutting off a much-needed lifeline.