OHSU Discloses Exact Number of Planned Layoffs

Oregon Health & Science University says it plans to eliminate 516 full-time positions as it tries to balance its budget in the face of rising costs for labor and supplies.

OHSU disclosed the exact number of expected job cuts in a presentation to be given at a finance and audit committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Included in that number are 143 vacancies that won’t be filled, leaving 373 reductions. Because some of those positions are filled by more than one part-time worker, the layoffs will affect 410 employees.

President Danny Jacobs had previously warned of cuts in an email to staff, but the number was unknown.

The bulk of the cuts in positions that are filled—180—will be made in health care. As a percentage of jobs cut, staff in communications and marketing will take the biggest hit. Fifteen positions will be eliminated and three vacant ones won’t be filled, the presentation says, accounting for 28% of the 65 positions in those areas.

In terms of pay levels, workers at OHSU making $50,000 to $75,000 account for close to 125 of the cuts, while staff making over $200,000 will lose fewer than 25, a chart in the presentation shows.

OHSU said it lost $64 million in the first 11 months of the fiscal year that ends June 30, even after a one-time gain of $44 million from a national settlement with Medicare. Salary-and-benefit expense exceeded budgeted figures by $100 million during the period, the presentation said.

“Areas outside the clinical enterprise continue to perform better than budget, in part due to delays in spending from the ramp up of new education and research programs,” the presentation said. “Taking out one-time items and areas ahead of budget, then annualizing to 12 months, shows a $151 (million) lift from today’s run-rate to achieve break-even next year.”

After the presentation to the finance and audit committee, the full board will consider the budget, and the cuts, on June 28.