Allegheny Health Network lays off 75 in back-office jobs; plans to hire up to 1,000 more
Allegheny Health Network laid off 75 people in corporate office positions this week even as the health care provider's leaders say the 19,000-employee organization continues to grow.
Officials anticipate hiring an additional 800 to 1,000 people over the next two to three years, AHN spokesman Dan Laurent said Friday.
"I stress that we're not reducing our workforce," Laurent said. "We continue to actively recruit and hire for roles that are critical to our strategic direction."
Most of the people who lost their jobs worked out of corporate offices in Downtown Pittsburgh, according to Laurent. Some had worked in corporate services but been based in various locations around the region. He would not specify where the non-Downtown positions whose eliminated were based.
Those affected worked in administrative and back-office roles, including positions in the company's IT and finance departments, Laurent said. They learned of their layoffs on Thursday and Friday.
None of the layoffs affected people who work in clinical roles, Laurent said.
The layoffs — which officials referred to as a "workforce restructuring" — follow the integrated health care network's first full year of positive earnings.
A subsidiary of parent Highmark Health, AHN has increased its workforce by 30 percent since 2009.
The network now employs more than 19,000 people. It's the region's second largest health care provider, behind Pennsylvania's biggest employer, UPMC.
AHN spans eight hospitals, a community-based network of physician organizations, a group purchasing organization, ambulatory surgery centers, and health and wellness pavilions in Western Pennsylvania and New York State.
"Seventy-five positions out of 19,000, it's less than 0.5 percent, but I wouldn't diminish the impact it has on those 75 employees," Laurent said.
Those who have been laid off are encouraged to apply for other jobs within the network "if their qualifications match open roles," Laurent said.
"We've been adding to our workforce significantly over the past couple years and we will continue to add a very significant increase in jobs," Laurent said.
The organization's leaders plan to hire 800 to 1,000 more people over the next few years as it expands facilities — including with six new cancer centers, a new 160-bed hospital in Pine Township and four smaller-scale neighborhood hospitals.
Plans for a community hospital in Hempfield include a full-fledged emergency department and 10 inpatient beds.
Construction began Wednesday on a $20 million cancer center in Butler expected to open by early 2019.
"All of those will require a lot of medical and administrative support," Laurent said.
Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@tribweb.com or via Twitter @NewsNatasha.
