With staffing and program costs rising, Grand River Hospital plans to eliminate dozens of positions.
Layoff notices will be issued to 45 employees, hospital officials said Tuesday in a press release.
However, many of those employees are expected to be moved to areas of the hospital where positions have gone unfilled.
In total, the changes are expected to reduce the hospital’s staffing level by 24 full-time positions – or less than one per cent of its total.
If no changes were made, hospital president Malcolm Maxwell said in the release, Grand River Hospital would have seen an extra $7.5 million in costs next year.
“These include costs for staffing, benefit costs and higher prices for supplies and drugs,” he said.
The 45 laid off employees will include 15 registered practical nurses, 12 non-unionized workers, 10 other nurses and eight clerical employees.
Changes already made include cuts to executive and management positions, adjustments to staffing levels and automation of many laboratory services, the release said.
One nursing unit will also be closed during spring and summer, when demand for its 17 beds is typically lower.
Earlier this month, Cambridge Memorial Hospital sent layoff notices to 33 nurses.
A spokesperson for that facility said personal support workers would be hired to perform some of the tasks traditionally carried out by nurses.
St. Mary’s General Hospital, meanwhile, says it doesn’t anticipate any layoffs in the near future.
