Mass General Brigham to lay off hundreds of non-clinical staff

Photo: Courtesy Mass General Brigham

Mass General Brigham plans to lay off hundreds of non-clinical employees due to a $250 million financial loss within the next two years, in what the health system calls a “gap of a quarter of a billion dollars.”

President and CEO Dr. Anne Klibanski wrote to colleagues on February 10: “Today, we begin a strategic reorganization across all parts of Mass General Brigham that will result in the elimination, consolidation or rescoping of a number of management and administrative positions – focused on non-clinical and non-patient facing roles. We will complete this reorganization in March.”

The Boston-based health system is consolidating certain management and administrative positions, according to Jennifer Street, senior vice president, Communications, Mass General Brigham. 

The move removes management and administrative layers for frontline staff to have more direct access to leadership, MGB said. Affected employees will receive market competitive severance packages and benefits coverage.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The decision is necessary despite initiatives by the health system to generate diversified sources of revenue, Street said.

“Providing unparalleled access to the highest-quality care and groundbreaking treatments demands critical investment and will require us to manage our operations and financial health with the same precision and innovation that we apply to patient care, research and education,” Street said. 

Challenges have included a “capacity crisis,” length of stay pressures, operational inefficiencies including duplicative processes and administrative layers, and expense inflation that has outpaced payer reimbursement, according to the strategic plan released by the health system.

The decision on the layoffs was reached by clinical, academic and administrative leaders, MGB said.

“If we do not take definitive action now to stabilize our financial health, we compromise our ability to continue to invest in our mission,” Klibanski said.

The strategic plan includes investments in support staff to relieve burdens on clinicians and frontline staff; accelerate technology investments to modernize digital tools, such as digital pathology, improved networks and Wi-Fi; AI capabilities that scale to streamline administrative tasks; and investing in research cores, laboratories and staff support.
 
 THE LARGER TREND

The not-for-profit integrated Mass General Brigham is among the largest private employers in Massachusetts. It employs over 82,000 people, including roughly 7,500 physicians, 3,000 Advanced Practice Providers, and 15,000 nurses.
 
Over the past two years, MGB has reported financial losses. In fiscal year 2024, which ended on September 30, 2024, excluding $118 million revenue that pertained to prior year activity, the health system generated a loss from operations of $72 million, a -0.4% operating margin.

In 2023, the loss from operations was $48 million, -0.3% operating margin, excluding $143 million prior year revenue.

ON THE RECORD

“Like healthcare systems everywhere, we face unrelenting pressure that threatens our ability to continue to provide the care, innovation and service that define us,” President and CEO Dr. Anne Klibanski said. “This reorganization will improve efficiency, simplify decision-making and empower staff with more direct access to leadership. Importantly, it will allow us to continue with planned and future investments in support of our patients and our mission, and to improve the lives of our clinicians and researchers.”  

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org