MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Department of Defense sequestration budget cuts will force hundreds of Minnesota National Guard technicians to take unpaid time off.

Guard spokesman Jon Lovald said about 1,100 technicians were notified Wednesday that they must take one unpaid day off each week for 11 weeks. The furloughs are to begin July 15 and stretch through September. The technicians support more than 10,000 soldiers in the Minnesota Army National Guard and the Minnesota Air National Guard.

Lovald said that while the Minnesota National Guard must follow the Department of Defense’s furlough policy, the soldiers and airmen remain ready for a state or federal emergency.

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minneapolis, said the furlough notices are due to the sequester’s “extreme, across-the-board cuts,” and that it’s why he wants to re-examine federal cuts.

“This is painful news to Minnesotans and their families, and it’s an example of why I’ve pressed to replace the entire sequester — including the defense cuts — with a mix of new revenues and smarter, targeted cuts,” Franken said.