UW Medicine Furloughs 4,000 More Workers Amid Financial Losses

SEATTLE, WA — UW Medicine will temporarily furlough an additional 4,000 unionized workers on top of the 1,500 nonunion staff furloughed last week, the health care system announced Monday, saying the cuts were necessary to cover $500 million in expected losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Monday's announcement followed bargaining with unions representing the workers, UW Medicine said in a statement. Affected workers, some of whom volunteered to be furloughed, will be out of work from one to eight weeks, and will keep benefits including health insurance.

The furloughs affect staff across UW Medicine, including at Harborview Medical Center, two University of Washington Medical Center campuses and UW Neighborhood Clinics. Some executives, directors and managers at UW Medicine are also participating according to the system.

The cuts are likely to affect UW Medicine workers who were among the nation's first on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, which hit Washington in the spring before spreading to every state. UW Medicine did not specify which positions are affected.

Several unions representing UW Medicine workers did not immediately return a request for comment by Patch Monday afternoon.

Causes of UW Medicine's financial shortfall include a loss of revenue from the cancelation of elective procedures and the high cost of treating COVID-19 patients, such as securing tests and personal protective equipment, according to the system.

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“This has been a very difficult, but necessary, decision to address the financial challenges facing UW Medicine and all healthcare organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics Lisa Brandenburg said in a statement.

Brandenburg said the system has worked to avoid any impact on patient care by aligning staff levels to match expected patient volume as elective procedures resume.

In addition to furloughs, UW Medicine says it has taken a number of other cost-cutting measures, including reducing salaries for senior leaders and putting other caps on spending. Those cuts will save about $76.5 million, according to the system.

Related coverage:

• UW Medicine Announces Furloughs for 1,500 Workers
• UW Medicine Forecasting Losses Of $500 Million By Summer's End