Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke's University Health Network said it is working to ensure workers affected by its food vendor change can keep their jobs.
The network's current food service vendor, Sodexo, recently notified the state that it will cut 67 jobs at the St. Luke's campus in Allentown, Pa., effective Sept. 28, according to The Morning Call.
However, St. Luke's spokesperson Sam Kennedy told Becker's Hospital Review the network is "going out of its way to make sure people don't end up unemployed."
He said the system told affected Sodexo employees, which include food service workers, dietitians, cashiers and utility workers, that they can remain with St. Luke's if that's what they prefer. Affected Sodexo employees in good standing who remain at St. Luke's would work at the same location, with their seniority at Sodexo recognized by the network, and receive enhanced benefits, said Mr. Kennedy.
St. Luke's announced in May plans to use Dallas-based Metz Culinary Management as its food service provider instead of Sodexo. St. Luke's said the move would affect about 400 employees, including part-time and per diem workers, with fewer than half of them being Sodexo employees.
The food vendor change comes amid expansion at St. Luke's. The network's Anderson Campus in Easton, Pa., began construction of a $100 million facility April 13. Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger and St. Luke's University Health Network also partnered to build an 80-bed acute care hospital in Orwigsburg, Pa.
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