Fox News reports, the Mayo Clinic said it will furlough or cut the hours of about 30,000 staff members as the nonprofit medical center attempts to offset about $3 billion in losses incurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Approximately 30,000 staff from across all Mayo locations will receive reduced hours or some type of furlough, though the duration will vary depending on the work unit,” according to a statement on Wednesday from spokeswoman Ginger Plumbo.
Affected employees will still receive healthcare benefits since these are furloughs and not layoffs.
“While we were able to protect full pay and benefits for our staff through April 28, temporary furloughs of some staff and salary reductions will be required after that time. We will work with our teams over the coming weeks to ensure that our staff are supported, that the duration of this disruption is as limited as possible, and that we are ready to ramp up quickly and resume full operations when it is safe to do so,” Plumbo said in a statement provided to Fox News.
Doctors will have to take a 10 percent wage reduction. Doctors who are senior managers will see cuts of 15 percent and executives are taking 20 percent reductions.
The furloughs or reduced hours affect about 42 percent of Mayo Clinic’s 70,000 employees across its campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.
The nonprofit medical clinic’s cost-cutting measures follow its decision in mid-March to halt elective surgeries and procedures — a move that was quickly applied statewide as part of Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order to suspend non-critical medical procedures not deemed essential to save a life, according to MPR News.
“The decision to eliminate elective surgeries and outpatient visits was the right decision in terms of protecting the safety of our patients and staff, and also preserving limited PPE (personal protective equipment),” said Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Bolton. “But it has led to significant reductions in revenues.”