ST. CLOUD — Central Minnesota’s largest health care provider plans to lay off 535 employees across the system, a CentraCare spokesperson said Tuesday.
The layoffs will impact employees at 44 sites; about 70% of the roles affected by the cuts are administrative and support positions and 30% are patient care roles.
The spokesperson attributed the layoffs “to significant external pressures including rising costs and reimbursement rates that no longer cover the true cost of care.”
CentraCare operates 10 hospitals and more than 30 clinics in central and southwest Minnesota, and has more than 11,500 employees. The spokesperson said the final number of people affected may change, as some employees will be able to transition into some of the 350 open positions.
Last year, the system reported $2 billion in total revenue with a 1.2% operating margin.
In December 2023, when University of Minnesota regents approved creating the new medical school campus in St. Cloud, regents lauded CentraCare for its strong bottom line.
“They are close to a $2 billion organization and they had positive net income in 2022 and 2023 when most peers and other organizations in this industry had negative results,” William Sibert, associate dean and chief financial officer for the U’s medical school, said at the time.
But hospitals and health care systems have struggled since the pandemic and federal cuts continue to threaten operations. In February, Eden Prairie-based UnitedHealth Group started offering buyouts, sparking fears of layoffs, and in May, Minneapolis-based UCare announced it was laying off 80 workers and halting new hires.
