NOVEMBER 18, 2025 — 296 SWEDISH EMPLOYEES
Providence Swedish will implement a 3.8% reduction in force in early 2026 that will impact employees in Providence Swedish locations in Puget Sound, including hospitals and clinics in First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Issaquah, Washington.
According to Swedish Health Services President and CEO Dr. Elizabeth Wako, “We all know health care is a broken system, and right now I’d say we’re in the middle of a perfect storm. And it’s heartbreaking. This wasn’t an easy decision.”
Wako noted that the decision was driven by reductions in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements, new state taxes, delays in insurer payments, and fewer surgeries, including Washington’s new business and occupation tax and caps on insurance payments to hospitals for care provided to public and school employees.
AUGUST 15, 2025 - 126 WASHINGTON STATE EMPLOYEES
As part of an organization-wide restructuring, the company will lay off 126 Washington State employees in early October 2025, including 60 employees in Spokane, Washington, and the remainder at various locations across the state.
CFO Greg Hoffman noted, “Thanks to the dedication of all our caregivers and the discipline we are bringing to our sustainability initiatives, we’re seeing meaningful improvements in our performance, bringing us closer to breakeven. At the same time, the passage of H.R.1 and other external pressures continue to challenge the entire health care sector. These headwinds reinforce the urgency of our transformation and our commitment to adapt, so we can sustain our Mission and ensure continued access to high-quality care in the communities we serve.”
AUGUST 29, 2017 — Original Post
One of Oregon’s largest private-sector employers has suffered significant operating losses and is now embarking on a cost-cutting campaign that will feature a reduction-in-force by approximately 210 employees against a workforce of about 111,000 employees. This does not include employees lost to normal attrition or consciously leaving administrative positions unfilled.
The real extent of the layoffs may not be readily apparent as the enterprise turns toward using higher-cost professional staffing agencies and contract employees to augment staff when necessary and to provide a level of flexibility in staffing. It appears that the trend in a number of major industries is to use staffing contractors to isolate companies from the legal responsibilities of dealing with layoffs and other critical personnel issues.
Like most major health care operations, one of the biggest complaints in low Medicaid reimbursement levels. Some states have deliberately increased their Medicaid population knowing that the federal government would pick up all or at least most of the tab under the Affordable Care Act. It appears that Medicaid patients seem to require a greater level of care than those who were previously covered by insurance, especially those who are seeking long-delayed medical treatment for pre-existing conditions. An aging population is also exerting stress on the health care system.
Let us not forget that Providence established a $150 million venture capital fund with about 100 employees that is headed by a former Amazon executive, Aaron Martin, and runs its own business incubator. By investing in other companies, Providence believes that it can profit from innovation as well as improve and enhance existing healthcare services. Hopefully, these innovations will be more than just another tracking app with little or no real medical-level accuracy or use.
