Dive Brief:
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will cut less than 2% of its workforce this fall as the system battles rising expenses.
- The system said it’s cutting jobs to address a “structural deficit,” in which costs related to drugs, supplies and labor have outpaced revenue growth.
- Details of the cuts are still being finalized, a health system spokesperson said. Impacted employees will be notified between late September and Nov. 15.
Dive Insight:
MSK said it has implemented program redesigns, decreased work with consultants and closed some open roles to cut costs. However, the health system does not plan to implement a full hiring freeze.
The health system said its decision to cut staff is due to broader industry headwinds.
“In recent years, unprecedented changes have reshaped the healthcare industry including the ballooning cost of drugs, supplies, and labor, which are outpacing revenue growth,” the system said. “These realities mean that MSK — like hospitals across the country — now faces an annual structural deficit that we will have to address on an ongoing basis.”
Memorial Sloan Kettering is the latest to conduct layoffs amidst an uncertain economic climate.
Layoffs and workforce restructurings have been on the rise this year, with Providence, NewYork-Presbyterian Health System, the University of New Mexico Hospital, Penn Medicine, Yale New Haven Health, Mass General Brigham, Jefferson Health and Lehigh Valley Health Network making changes to their teams in recent months, often citing concerns about growing financial challenges.
Analysts from Kaufman Hall and West Monroe told Healthcare Dive last month that they expect additional health systems to cut staff in the back half of 2025 as they contend with rising costs, reimbursement challenges and impacts from “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which includes cuts to healthcare programs.
Industry-wide, hiring was down last month compared to the past year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Healthcare added 31,000 jobs in August, below the 12-month average of 42,000, suggesting the job market may be cooling slightly.
Unemployment nationwide reached its highest level since 2021 at 4.3%.
