“These are always difficult decisions and we regret the loss of any jobs,” the Clinic said in a statement. “We will continue to evaluate our services and the way we work moving forward, just as health care systems across the country will need to do. At the same time, we will continue to hire for positions that are critical, and we will continue to grow to ensure our future is strong, to protect jobs and to provide the best care to our patients.”
The Clinic's budget reductions were due, in part, to declining reimbursements from government and commercial payers. In addition, there continues to be a veil of uncertainty in the healthcare industry as the Affordable Care Act takes hold.
Other local health systems — Summa, Akron General and MetroHealth, for example — also have shed workers in recent years. University Hospitals, meanwhile, has trimmed $180 million in expenses from its books.
According to Crain's research, the Clinic employs more than 33,000 full-time-equivalent employees in a 15-county area in Northeast Ohio, making it by far the region's largest employer.
"Cleveland Clinic reports nearly 700 employees to take early retirement" originally appeared on the Crain's Cleveland Business website.
