‘A tragedy’: 175 people laid off at Long Beach Memorial amid alleged budgetary shortfalls, leadership shakeup

Over 100 workers were notified Friday that they are being laid off from their jobs at the Long Beach Memorial medical campus, marking the second round of mass layoffs in the last year and a half.

A hospital spokesperson confirmed Saturday that 115 workers were notified that their positions at Memorial and Miller Children’s and Women’s hospitals were being terminated, which is in addition to 60 workers who were notified last month. The hospital notified the state of the layoffs in two separate filings with the California Employment Development Department.

“It was a terrible day. Memorial is losing very talented, loyal nurses, some who have spent their whole careers here,” one staff member wrote in a private social media group Friday. “It is a tragedy for them as well as our patients and our community. I am heartbroken.”

While some of those laid off were nurses, the hospital did not respond to questions regarding what other types of positions were affected by the layoffs.

In an internal memo sent out Friday and obtained by the Watchdog, interim CEO Frank Bierne told staff that impacted workers’ final days would be between June 16 and July 1.

During a meeting Wednesday, hospital leadership announced “significant layoffs,” according to multiple sources who attended, including union representatives. At the meeting, executives said the hospital was facing a $40 million budgetary shortfall, despite layoffs and cuts in 2024.

A hospital spokesperson declined to comment on the financial state of the facility.

The internal memo also stated that the hospital’s blood donor center is to be shuttered “due to a decrease in blood donations.” Certain pediatric services are to be consolidated and streamlined to “improve care delivery.”

“We understand these changes are difficult, and we recognize they can be even more difficult when you are uncertain if this is the full impact,” Bierne wrote. “We can share that ongoing work will be done to identify additional productivity and efficiency opportunities, and we are committed to leading through this work thoughtfully and transparently.”

Memorial did not respond to questions about what other services, if any, may be cut from the facility.

On March 31 of this year, the hospital filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, with the California Employment Development Department, which is required by law when a company is planning for mass layoffs. That filing stated the hospital planned to terminate 60 people.

The hospital filed a second WARN Friday, informing the state of the additional 115 positions, a hospital spokesperson said.

Some individuals from both WARN filings “have been or will be redeployed to other positions within the organization through our Talent Acquisition job placement team,” the spokesperson stated Saturday, but the number of workers was not provided.

The recent terminations are the second round of mass layoffs Long Beach Memorial workers have faced over the last 16 months. In early 2024, hospital staff endured a similar round of layoffs when 72 people were terminated, including those in the hospital’s outpatient pharmacy, which was shut down on Feb. 2, 2024.

One week ago, hospital leadership shuttered the outpatient pharmacy at the Children’s Village. According to a March 31 internal memo obtained by the Watchdog, the pharmacy closure went into effect April 25, citing a decrease in demand.

These moves come on the heels of a leadership shakeup on the medical campus. Late last year, Chief Operating Officer Todd Blake and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Chief Executive Yair Katz allegedly got into an “altercation,” which resulted in both men being fired, according to staff members familiar with the incident who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The hospital declined to comment on the incident as it is an “internal personal matter.”

In a Jan. 21 letter to then-CEO Blair Kent, Miller Children’s staff urged him to reverse his decision to fire Katz, saying it caused “deep concern and disapproval.”

“[Katz] was widely regarded … as a remarkable and visionary leader,” the letter reads.

When Katz was not brought back, staff had a vote of no confidence in Kent, according to people familiar with the situation. The hospital spokesperson confirmed that Kent has taken a leave of absence, which staff members have attributed to the loss of support from employees.

Beirne was appointed interim CEO, the hospital spokesperson said, declining to comment as to whether or not Kent would be returning to the position.

Kent was hired on as CEO of the medical campus in December 2022 after longtime CEO John Bishop unexpectedly announced his resignation earlier that year. Blake was hired as COO in August 2023.

Between the ever-shifting leadership, multiple rounds of layoffs, restructuring and department closures, workers say the work environment is unstable for those who remain. This round of layoffs “has a whole different feel” than previous rounds, one worker said.

“It’s been wild,” one doctor said, adding that many physicians have “lost faith in their chief of staff.”