Baylor Scott & White lays off 102 corporate finance employees to reduce costs

Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health, reportedly the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas, is laying off 102 finance and accounting employees.

The move is intended to help in the system's effort to reduce costs and reshape operations.

Although the system says it's retaining about two-thirds of its corporate finance department, the eliminated positions are getting outsourced to a third-party vendor in India, according to The Dallas Morning News.  

Some of the impacted employees have been offered positions with the vendor, a spokesperson for Baylor Scott & White Health told Healthcare Finance News.

WHY THIS MATTERS

This is the second round of layoffs for the health system since the start of the pandemic.

In May, it laid off roughly 1,200 employees, or almost 3% of its workforce, due to the financial fallout caused by the pandemic, according to KBTX.

In addition to the layoffs, it also temporarily reduced the salaries of senior executives, modified its physician compensation models, and furloughed an unspecified number of employees.

These actions are a result of the system being more intentional with its resources, a spokesperson said in a statement. It is working to add more clinical care positions and has 2,000 open roles, including ones for doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists.

THE LARGER TREND

Last year, Baylor Scott & White Health called off a merger with Memorial Hermann in what would have been a $14 billion deal that would have formed the largest nonprofit health system in Texas, with reach into 30 counties.

With the onset of COVID-19 causing the cancellation of elective surgeries in the spring, many healthcare organizations were forced to make cuts to their staff.

In April, the unemployment rate hit a record high of 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression. Since then, the rate has made a recovery, and sat at 6.7% in November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ON THE RECORD

"Core to our Mission – both today and in the future – is care for patients, and our system is continuously looking for ways to reduce costs and improve our ability to provide affordable and quality healthcare for our patients and members," Baylor Scott & White Health said by statement. "As we continue to reshape our operations for the future, we are being more intentional in how we direct our resources to patient and member care."

Twitter: @HackettMallory
Email the writer: mhackett@himss.org