AM I NEXT? ASCENSION TECHNOLOGIES (09/21/21)

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 — 330 IT SUPPORT EMPLOYEES OUTSOURCED

According to a statement filed with the State of Missouri…

"After extended discernment and as part of its technology transformation," the company said it decided to hire a third party to do the work currently done by employees who provide technology support for application and platforms, collaboration and end-user engineering, network and telecom, and field services functions.

The total number of employees affected on or around November 19, 2021, is estimated to be 330, mostly remote workers including 18 employees located in Missouri with seven located in the St. Louis area.

The layoffs should come as no surprise to those who read the company’s notice of 651 layoffs scheduled between August 8, 2021, and December 10, 2021.

JUNE 1, 2021 — CONTINUING TO OUTSOURCE: 92 IT JOBS IN INDIANA OUTSOURCED TO INDIA

The company has announced that it is continuing to use specialized business process vendors and will be outsourcing IT positions from St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana to India. Some employees complain that they were forced to train their replacements or forfeit severance benefits. Many of those outsourced are remote workers based in Indianapolis and Evansville, Indiana.

A company statement noted, “The pandemic has underscored the importance of our ongoing effort to reimagine and transform our approach to technology as we create greater access to our health system for all consumers.

More than ever before, patients expect a seamless, safe and effective consumer experience, enabled by cutting-edge technology, and caregivers need to be relieved of many of the burdens of overly complex and disconnected technology systems. We are striving to meet these changing needs and expectations head-on.”

MAY 2, 2021 — CONTINUING TO OUTSOURCE TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT SERVICES WITH 651 LAYOFFS

According to a statement filed with the State of Missouri…

“Ascension Technologies, after extended discernment and as part of its technology transformation, has made the decision to engage a third-party to perform the work currently performed by employees providing technology support for various electronic health record, revenue cycle or other ancillary systems.”

“The employees currently performing this work for Ascension Technologies are predominantly a remote workforce not based in Missouri, however, the positions all report into a single location based in St. Louis.”

The layoffs are scheduled to take place between August 8, 2021, and December 10, 2021.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 — Original Post…

Saint Louis, Missouri-based Ascension Technologies, a healthcare information technology services provider, has announced a restructuring that will see 233 IT jobs outsourced and their current employees laid off commencing October 24, 2020.

"Ascension Technologies, after extended discernment and as part of Its technology transformation, has
made the decision to engage a third-party to perform the work currently performed by employees of the Network Operations Center and Service Desk located in Troy, Michigan. The total number of impacted employees between October 24, 2020, and November 25, 2020, is estimated to be 223."

"As part of this transformation to drive innovation and enhance capabilities to meet the healthcare needs and expectations of our communities, like other healthcare organizations we have begun shifting some of our technology functions to third-party partners who specialize in these services. And as this work shifts, it means some changes to our workforce."

"These transitions will enable us to design, deliver and innovate the best end-to-end customer and clinician experience, using best practices and industry standards, while being good stewards of our resources. Throughout this process, we will always work to support affected employees with placement in new opportunities, retraining, and other services."

The outsourcing transferrence will shift the responsibility for services to another entity which will result in a flexible staffing capability that can adjust with business demands.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

NO LOVE AT BOSTON SCIENTIFIC (10/29/24)

OCTOBER 29, 2024 —

The company has announced the post-acquisition closure of Silk Road Medical in Sunnyvale, California, and the relocation of its operations to Plymouth, Minnesota.

The closure will impact 138 employees, and layoffs will be phased until the second quarter of 2025.

JULY 21, 2023 — CLOSURURE IN FREMONT, CALIFORNIA 52 LAYOFFS

The company has announced its plans to close its Fremont, California facility on August 11, 2023, and work on the Wolf Thrombectomy platform to a company facility in Minnesota. 52 employees will be impacted by the closure.

According to a company statement, “Transferring work among our facilities helps us align our products, capabilities, technologies, and resources to best support our business strategies, meet market demands, and improve our operating performance while delivering value, along with life-changing medical solutions, to our customers and their patients.”

MARCH 2, 2023 — 120 LAYOFFS IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

The company has filed to lay off 120 people at the Houston, Texas, site it acquired in 2021 through its $925 million takeover of Preventice Solutions.

The post-acquisition move was driven by the company’s decision to transfer some work to the company’s Arden Hills, Minnesota facility.

According to a spokesperson, “Transferring work among our facilities helps us align our products, capabilities, technologies, and resources to support our business strategies.”

DECEMBER 15, 2021 — PLANT IN SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA CLOSURE WITH 170 LAYOFFS

The company has announced that it will permanently close its Baytech manufacturing facility in San Jose, California impacting 170 employees commencing January 30, 2022.

According to a company spokesperson, “To improve our operating performance and meet anticipated market demands, we continuously assess the way we are structured and resourced to deliver value to patients and our customers.

As part of a restructuring plan announced in 2018, we are transferring the work currently performed at our Baytech site in San Jose, California, to other Boston Scientific sites. Transferring work among our facilities helps us align our products, capabilities, technologies, and resources to support our business strategies.

Our priority is the employees who have been impacted by the decision, and they have been given adequate notification and are being offered transition assistance.”

NOVEMBER 18, 2020 — 106 EMPLOYEES IN MAPLE GROVE, MINNESOTA

According to a company spokesperson, “Boston Scientific is voluntarily recalling its LOTUS Edge Aortic Valve System from the market and retiring the platform. As a result, the operational unit associated with this system will be closed and the employees will be laid off.

"While we have been pleased with the benefits the LOTUS Edge valve has provided to patients, we have been increasingly challenged by the intricacies of the delivery system required to allow physicians to fully reposition and recapture the valve.

"The complexity of the delivery system, manufacturing challenges, the continued need for further technical enhancements, and current market adoption rates led us to the difficult decision to stop investing in the Lotus Edge platform."

MARCH 29, 2018 — Original post…

Boston Scientific, following through on their November 2017 WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) filing with the State of California, 289 employees were laid off from Boston Scientific’s largest site on the West Coast and located in the high-desert area of Valencia, California.

Facility operations involving the company’s Implantable Pulse Generators (known as neuromodulators and used to stimulate the spinal cord to eliminate neuropathic pain in patients) are being redistributed to other facilities in Minnesota, Puerto Rico and Ireland.

The company based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, continues to face intense competition in the medical space as well as the usual healthcare cost containment pressures, government payment and delivery system reforms, changes in private payer policies, and marketplace consolidations could decrease the demand for our products, the prices which customers are willing to pay for those products and/or the number of procedures performed in addition to the customary legal challenges for adverse outcomes in critical care devices.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?