Category Archives: Employee Layoffs

Boeing laying off 6,770 employees, with more to come

Posted on by • Posted in Economic Case, Economic Recovery, Economy Reopening, Employee Benefits, Employee Furlough, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Financially Distressed, Health Policy, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Job, Job Market, Job Search, Job Security, Market Outlook, Pandemic, Public Health, Public Safety, Social Distancing, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance • Leave a comment

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/27/boeing-layoffs-coronavirus-284453

Boeing (BA) Layoffs Start With 6,770 Jobs in U.S. This Week ...

The numbers publicized Wednesday “represent the largest segment of layoffs” that are expected, a Boeing spokesperson said.

Boeing said Wednesday that nearly 7,000 of its U.S. employees will be involuntarily laid off, a bloodletting that is part of a plan for the aerospace giant to shrink its overall workforce by 10 percent amid the new aviation landscape created by Covid-19.

In addition, about 5,500 U.S. workers are being laid off voluntarily.

In a message to employees sent Wednesday, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said the pandemic’s impact “means a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means fewer jobs on our lines and in our offices.”

“We have done our very best to project the needs of our commercial airline customers over the next several years as they begin their path to recovery,” Calhoun said. “I wish there were some other way.”

The numbers publicized Wednesday “represent the largest segment of layoffs” that are expected, a Boeing spokesperson said. “The several thousand remaining layoffs will come in additional tranches over the next few months.”

The coronavirus pandemic has crushed demand for passenger airline travel, and the Boeing spokesperson said its biggest workforce cuts are to “areas that are most exposed to the condition of our commercial customers,” but that “our defense, space and related services businesses will help us limit overall impact.”

In his message to workers, Calhoun pointed to some initial indications of recovery for the industry, saying some airlines are “reporting that reservations are outpacing cancellations on their flights for the first time since the pandemic started,” and a number of “countries and U.S. states are starting cautiously to open their economies again.”

Still, it will take years for the industry to “return to what it was just two months ago,” Calhoun said.

He said Boeing will need to work with airlines to “assure the traveling public that it can fly safe from infection.”

“We also will have to adjust our business plans constantly until the global pandemic stops whipsawing our markets in ways that are still hard to predict,” he said.

Later Wednesday, Boeing said it had restarted production of its beleaguered 737 MAX in Renton, Wash., after a monthslong suspension. The MAX has been grounded around the world since March 2019, following two fatal crashes.

 

 

 

Ascension reports $2.7B net loss in Q3

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https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/ascension-reports-2-7b-net-loss-in-q3.html?utm_medium=email

Ascension, Google working on 'secret' patient data project, says ...

St. Louis.-based Ascension saw revenue decline in the three months ended March 31, and it ended the period with a net loss, according to unaudited financial documents. 

The 150-hospital system reported operating revenue of $6.1 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, down 2.5 percent from the same period a year earlier. Net patient service revenue dramatically declined in March due to a drop in patient volume attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 has been encountered across all Ascension markets, to varying degrees, and has had an adverse effect on the system’s revenues and operating margin,” management wrote in comments on the financial results.

Looking at the nine months ended March 31, net patient service revenue was up 1.9 percent year over year due to several factors, including an increase in physician office visits and expansion of service lines and sites of care. 

The health system’s expenses climbed more than 3 percent year over year to $6.4 billion in the third quarter, and expenses were up nearly 4 percent in the nine months ended March 31. Higher expenses related to expanded service lines and the transition toward standardized revenue cycle services pushed the system’s expenses higher before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ascension said. 

Ascension ended the most recent quarter with an operating loss of $429.4 million, compared to operating income of $80.1 million a year earlier. During the nine months ended March 31, the health system’s operating loss totaled $344.9 million.

After factoring in nonoperating items, including losses from investments of nearly $2.5 billion, Ascension reported a net loss of $2.7 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020. In the same period a year earlier, the system recorded investment income of $1.1 billion and net income of $1.2 billion.

To help offset financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ascension received funds from the $175 billion in relief aid Congress has allocated to hospitals and other healthcare providers to cover expenses and lost revenue tied to the pandemic. The health system received $211 million in federal grants, according to The New York Times.

Ascension also applied for and received about $2 billion of Medicare advance payments in April, which must be repaid. 

 

 

 

 

Baylor Scott & White to lay off 1,200 workers, furlough others

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https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/baylor-scott-white-to-lay-off-1-200-workers-furlough-others.html?utm_medium=email

How Baylor Scott & White's quality alliance led Texas in Medicare ...

Baylor Scott & White Health, a nonprofit health system based in Dallas, is laying off about 1,200 employees, nearly 3 percent of its workforce, according to The Dallas Morning News. 

Like other health systems across the nation, Baylor Scott & White is facing financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The health system spent $85 million to prepare and respond to the pandemic, and it also saw a significant drop in patient volumes.

“We experienced a dramatic drop in patient volumes — between 50 and 90 percent, depending upon where they sought care,” CEO Jim Hinton told employees in a video message, according to The Dallas Morning News. 

Those affected by the layoffs will be told this week and paid through June 7, a spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News.

In addition to the layoffs, Baylor Scott & White is furloughing an unspecified number of employees, leaving some open positions unfilled and cutting the pay of about 300 senior leaders, according to the report. 

Baylor Scott & White has received about $172 million in federal grants from the $175 billion in relief aid Congress has allocated to hospitals and other healthcare providers to cover expenses or lost revenues tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The health system also received about $660 million in Medicare advance payments, which must be repaid, according to the report.

Baylor Scott & White is one of more than 260 hospitals and health systems across the nation to furlough or lay off employees in recent months. 

 

 

 

McLaren Health Care’s too secretive about finances, PPE, Michigan nurse union says

Posted on by • Posted in Coronavirus, Economic Stimulus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Employee Benefits, Employee Hazard Pay, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Executive Compensation, Health System, Healthcare Providers, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Labor Union, National Labor Relations Board, Pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Sick Leave, Transparency, Unfair Labor Practices • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/mclaren-health-care-s-too-secretive-about-finances-ppe-michigan-nurse-union-says.html?utm_medium=email

About McLaren Health Care

Ten nurse unions in Michigan are accusing McLaren Health Care of not being transparent about its finances and personal protective equipment supply during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the health system said it has shared some of that information.

Many of the nurse unions have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that by not sharing information with front-line healthcare workers the Grand Blanc, Mich.-based health system is violating federal labor law, a media release from the Michigan Nurses Association states.

According to the association, each of its 10 unions received a letter from the health system May 15, in which the system refused to divulge how much funding it received in federal COVID-19 grants. The health system also has refused to provide details about its protective gear inventory, the unions allege.

“The fact that they won’t share basic financial information with those of us working on the front lines makes you wonder if they have something to hide,” said Christie Serniak, a nurse at McLaren Central Michigan hospital in Mount Pleasant and president of the Michigan Nurses Association affiliate.

But the health system maintains it has been transparent and has worked with labor unions and bargaining units across the system since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve openly shared information about our operations, the challenges of restrictions on elective procedures, our plans for managing influxes of patients and our supplies of personal protective equipment,” Shela Khan Monroe, vice president of labor and employment relations at McLaren Health Care told Becker’s Hospital Review.

Ms. Khan Monroe said that the information has been shared through weekly meetings, departmental meetings and several union negotiation sessions over the last two months.

The unions also say that the health system has not offered its workers hazard pay or COVID-19 paid leave that is on par with other systems. They say that only workers who test positive for COVID-19 can take additional paid time off.

In a written statement, McLaren disputed the union’s claims about employee leave, saying that employees “dealing with child care and other COVID-related family matters” can take time off to care for loved ones.

McLaren did not specify if this time off is paid. Becker’s has reached out for clarification and will update the article once more information is available.

“We have negotiations pending with several of the unions involved in the coalition, and while we are deeply disappointed in these recent tactics, we will continue to work towards productive outcomes for all concerned,” said Ms. Khan Monroe.

Recently, a coalition of unions urged McLaren Health Care executives to reduce their own salaries before laying off employees.

 

 

 

Cartoon – Memorial vs Labor Day

Posted on by • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Cartoon, Employee Benefits, Employee Furlough, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Happy Labor Day, Job, Job Market, Job Search, Job Security, Memorial Day, Reflection, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance, Veterans • Leave a comment

Labor Day

HCA asks union to abandon wage increases this year

Posted on by • Posted in Economic Crisis, Economic Stimulus, Employee Benefits, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, For-Profit, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Labor Spend Management, Labor Union, Medicare, Nurses, Nurses Union, Paycheck Protection Program, The CARES Act • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hr/hca-asks-union-to-abandon-wage-increases-this-year.html?utm_medium=email

HCA revenue beats the hospital chain's expectations in 2019

A union representing more than 150,000 registered nurses in hundreds of U.S. hospitals is disputing with Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare regarding pay and benefits.

National Nurses United said HCA is demanding that the union choose between an undetermined number of layoffs and no 401(k) match for this year or no layoffs and no nurse pay increases for the rest of the year, according to ABC affiliate Kiii TV.

HCA Healthcare, which to date has avoided layoffs due to the pandemic, told Becker’s Hospital Review it is asking the union to give up their demand for wage increases this year, just as nonunion employees have. HCA executive leadership, corporate and division colleagues and hospital executives have also taken pay cuts.  

The union said it takes issue with having to make this choice given HCA’s profits in the last decade, the additional funding the for-profit hospital operator received from the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, and additional Medicare loans.

“It is outrageous for HCA to use the cover of the pandemic to swell its massive profits at the expense of its dedicated caregivers and the patients who will also be harmed by cuts in nursing staff,” Malinda Markowitz, RN, California Nurses Association/National Nurses United president, said in a news release.

HCA pointed to the pandemic pay program it implemented and recently extended through at least the end of June that allows employees who are called off or affected by a facility closure and cannot be redeployed to receive 70 percent of their base pay.

“It is surprising and frankly disappointing that unions would demand pay raises for their members and may reject the continuation of a generous pay program that is providing continued paychecks for more the 100,000 colleagues,” HCA said in a statement. “The goal of HCA Healthcare’s pandemic pay program is to keep our caregivers employed and receiving paychecks at a time when hospitals throughout the country are experiencing significant declines in patient volume and there is not enough work for them.”

HCA said more than 16,000 union members have participated in the pandemic pay program, even though it is not part of their contract. 

 

 

 

 

Essentia Health lays off 900 employees

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https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/essentia-health-lays-off-900-employees.html?utm_medium=email

Essentia Health to lay off 900 employees, including 178 workers in ...

Essentia Health is laying off 900 employees, about 6 percent of its workforce, to help offset severe financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Duluth, Minn.-based health system is facing $100M in losses due to declines in patient volumes since the beginning of March. Essentia has taken several steps to help offset those losses, including placing 850 employees on administrative leave, reducing physician and executive compensation, eliminating certain leadership roles and limiting capital spending. The health system said it is now forced to permanently reduce its workforce.

“Despite our best efforts, the many cost-reduction measures we’ve taken over the last several weeks are not sufficient to preserve our mission and the health of the organization,” Essentia Health CEO David C. Herman, MD, said in a news release. “This has prompted our leadership team to carefully consider the most difficult decision we’ve faced since I joined Essentia five years ago and move forward with permanent layoffs.”

Essentia said it will continue to provide health insurance for noncontract employees affected by layoffs for the next three months. The health system said the 850 employees on administrative leave will be called back as needed. 

 

 

 

 

Cartoon – I survived the Coronavirus

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Politicalcartoons.com - Editorial Cartoon 237636

Cartoon – 2020 Spring Flood

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Syndicated cartoons gallery: Unemployment cartoons from around the ...

Cartoon – Working Paycheck to Paycheck

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The Benefits And Compensation Comics And Cartoons | The Cartoonist ...