Providence said Aug. 8 it is eliminating 128 jobs across its Oregon ministries, following a round of cuts announced in June.
The latest reductions include clinical and nonclinical roles, union and non-union jobs, as well as caregivers in acute care facilities, researchers, and “those whose efforts away from the bedside help make our direct patient care possible,” Jennifer Burrows, chief executive at Providence Oregon, said in a statement shared with Becker’s. The cuts span various positions — including nursing roles — across the organization.
Ms. Burrows added that Providence Oregon will make every effort to place affected workers in other roles, while knowing that some will leave the organization.
“As we said when announcing our previous wave of reductions in June, these difficult decisions affect our employees and the communities we serve,” she said. “They reflect the fact that every health system is undergoing a fundamental restructuring due to widespread workforce and funding issues. The cuts to vital safety-net programs included in the recently passed H.R.1, [also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act],” as well as the regulatory environment here in Oregon, will only serve to deepen the crisis Providence and other healthcare organizations are facing.
“In part, this means we will not be able to offer all services in all locations. Some of the changes you will start seeing in the months ahead will be related to consolidating patient services where we have high volume and high expertise.”
The reductions come after Renton, Wash.-based Providence, the parent organization of Providence Oregon, implemented a restructuring plan affecting 600 full-time-equivalent positions across seven states. That same month, 134 Providence Oregon employees were notified that their positions were eliminated. Providence Oregon has also eliminated or greatly reduced other sources of spending, such as travel, community sponsorships and internal celebrations for employees.
Additionally, Portland, Ore.-based Providence Health Plan, a division of Providence, has laid off 4% of its workforce amid financial headwinds.
Ms. Burrows indicated she expects cost-cutting to continue.
“Once again, these reductions are not single events in time,” she said. “We expect to have additional announcements later in the year as we make progress toward getting ourselves back to a place of being at break-even in terms of revenue and expenses.”
