WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is warning that "people will lose their jobs" if across-the-board budget cuts take effect as scheduled next week.

Obama says the $85 billion in cuts - known as the sequester - are "severe" and says they won't help the economy and won't create jobs.

Obama is calling the across-the-board cuts a "meat cleaver" approach to reducing the deficit. He says the cuts would impact the nation's military readiness and investment in areas like education.

He's calling on Republicans to back a plan proposed by Senate Democrats that would offset the sequester through a combination of increased tax revenue and targeted budget cuts. GOP lawmakers are opposed to more tax revenue, saying Obama got the tax increases he wanted during the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.