Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, N.Y., is laying off about 3% of its workforce and requiring unpaid, one-week furloughs for nonunion employees in 2026, citing inflation, reimbursement shortfalls and other financial challenges.
The reduction affects approximately 150 of the hospital’s 4,125 employees, a spokesperson told Becker’s. Affected roles are “mostly non-clinical areas.”
“Like many other safety net hospitals across New York State and the U.S. that are facing rising costs without the commensurate reimbursements to cover costs of patient care, ECMC’s circumstance is not unique,” the organization said in a Jan. 29 statement. “In addition, insurance companies continue to deny and delay payment for patient care services at an alarming rate.”
It added that while no programs have been closed, ECMC “has made targeted reductions in services to meet patient demands and our financial realities.”
ECMC operates a 573-bed academic medical center, off-campus health centers, more than 30 outpatient specialty services, and Terrace View, a 390-bed long-term care facility. It is also Western New York’s only level 1 adult trauma center.
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