Providence Announces Layoffs, Draws Criticism from Nurses’ Union

Medford, Oregon- Providence, a not-for-profit health system that operates across seven Western states, announced this week it is cutting 600 full-time-equivalent positions in a move the organization says is aimed at ensuring long-term financial sustainability amid rising costs and shrinking reimbursements.

The layoffs, which impact primarily non-clinical and administrative roles—but include some patient-care positions—come as part of a broader restructuring effort. Providence currently employs approximately 125,000 people and says it is working to redeploy affected individuals into one of more than 5,000 open positions across its network.

“We do not take decisions like this lightly and recognize that behind every role is a person, colleague, friend and caregiver whose contributions have helped carry out our Mission,” said Dr. Darryl Elmouchi, Providence’s chief operating officer, in a statement. “These difficult but necessary steps are part of a comprehensive approach to financial sustainability that will enable our family of organizations to better reinvest in and revitalize the front lines of care, including the people, programs, equipment and facilities needed to serve our communities.”

Providence cited a range of financial pressures affecting the health care industry—including proposed federal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, delayed or denied reimbursements from commercial insurers, inflation, and new labor laws—as reasons for the restructuring. In particular, the organization pointed to higher labor costs driven by new staffing requirements in several West Coast states.

However, the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) condemned the layoffs, especially those affecting rural communities such as Seaside, Oregon. In a strongly worded statement, the union accused Providence of prioritizing profits over patient care and misrepresenting the impact of Oregon’s staffing legislation.

“Providence’s announcement of layoffs, including clinic staff in Seaside, OR, continues the harmful disinvestment in rural healthcare in Oregon,” the ONA said. “Providence’s misguided reduction in nursing staff once again proves its priorities need to be reexamined. Layoffs lead to reduced quality of care, short staffing, unsafe patient loads, and a deterioration of care.”

The ONA further criticized Providence for attributing the cuts in part to Oregon’s historic safe staffing law, passed in 2023, which mandates safer nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals. The union emphasized that the law does not apply to clinics—the setting where some of the layoffs are occurring.

“Providence blaming a law which does not apply to clinics as the reason for its layoffs is not only nonsensical and disingenuous; it is dangerous,” the ONA said. “Providence is a $30 billion corporation which pays its top executives 7 and 8 figure salaries and has ample resources to meet safe staffing standards. Their decision to reduce frontline caregivers in rural Oregon while protecting executive salaries and profits is a deliberate choice, not a financial necessity.”

The union is calling on Providence to reverse the layoffs, comply fully with safe staffing regulations, and engage in “good-faith dialogue with their workers to build a healthcare system that puts care—not cost-cutting or profits—at its center.”

Providence leadership maintains that all decisions are being made with long-term community health in mind. “As stewards of a nearly 170-year-old legacy,” the organization said, “we will continue to evaluate our operations through the lens of our Mission, values and community needs.”

The health system serves patients in Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. At this time, there are no specific details on potential staff impacts at any Providence facility in the Medford metro.