For all employees at MD Anderson Cancer Center, today was bound to be a turbulent day. Early in the morning, Center President Ronald DePinho sent a video message to all staff announcing a 5% layoff plan, and the center subsequently held a press conference to confirm the news.

MD Anderson, short for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is located southwest of downtown Houston. It has been ranked as the No. 1 hospital in the United States for cancer care and research by U.S. News & World Report multiple times, enjoying a prestigious reputation both domestically and internationally.

Data released by the Texas Tribune last May showed that Anderson Center had a total of 21,206 employees, including 14,320 women and 6,886 men, with a median annual salary of $64,160. Employees were distributed across 585 departments, with the three largest being the Facilities Maintenance Department, the Hematologic Malignancies Department, and the Clinical Care Department.Anderson Center has a significant number of Asian employees, totaling 5,831, which accounts for 27.5% of the total workforce. Among them are many senior executives in management roles, with the median annual salary for Asian employees reaching $75,966.Among the more than 20,000 employees, over half are young and middle-aged adults with a tenure of one to ten years, while slightly less than half are long-term employees with a service length of ten years or more. Employees with less than one year of service account for only 15%.

According to information released at the press conference, the current wave of layoffs is expected to result in the dismissal or forced retirement of 800 to 900 employees. Of these, 12% will come from managerial ranks, including several vice chairpersons. Physicians and frontline healthcare workers will not be affected.

Termination notices have been issued sequentially since this morning, with all procedural formalities to be completed by next Monday at the latest. Anderson Center aims to achieve an indirect annual cost saving of RMB 120 million through this 5% workforce reduction.

Earlier, the Anderson Center was exposed to have financial losses. The decreasing number of patients and increasingly expensive research funding are major reasons for this round of layoffs. As soon as the layoff news broke, the $200,000 bonus that Dr. Ronald DePinho, chairman of the Anderson Center, had just received for outstanding performance appeared particularly glaring.As chairman, his annual salary reached as high as $1.439 million.

Industry analysts suggest that the root of the problem lies in the March 2016 Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR) system reform. During its comprehensive transition to electronic medical records, the massive Anderson Cancer Center incurred substantial financial and personnel costs, while also exposing numerous management and communication gaps. These issues snowballed over time, ultimately leading to the current wave of layoffs.

At the press conference, DePinho assured the public that physicians and healthcare staff in the clinical departments were protected, and that despite a 5% reduction in workforce, the quality of medical care and services at MD Anderson Cancer Center would remain unaffected.

TopsDrop：My wife received the notice at 10:30 this morning. She works in supply chain, and the entire department has been disbanded—all 30 employees were let go. The severance package includes two months’ salary and continued medical insurance coverage.

ganbattelilone：Anderson Center is unparalleled in cancer treatment and research, but it has been a dismal failure as a for-profit commercial entity.

the_sloppy_J："I'm from the IT department. My manager hinted at layoffs a few months ago, and several colleagues in our team have already been let go. The atmosphere is extremely tense, and our workload keeps increasing. I hope I can make it through this round."

senorchicken：As a patient, I am solely concerned about the quality of care following the layoffs. Recently, when I went for chemotherapy, I noticed that fewer doctors were available and wait times have become increasingly longer.

Aelynn_T：The first thing I said at work this morning: “Did you see that layoff video?”

risk235：My brother works in the equipment maintenance department, and three people were laid off from his team this morning.

fuglyflamingo：As the number of personnel decreased, the first obvious consequence was a rapid decline in service quality.

kleib323：A-maz-ing! I’ve just escaped from the oil industry, which had sunk into a quagmire, and happily stepped foot into the health-care in-du-stry!

Pavarotti_Flamingo：Best of luck to all our colleagues at the Anderson Center!

Source: Dealmoon