‘They’re telling us that they do not want this to go public. I don’t think that’s right. They’re a public organization. They can’t hide this kind of stuff. It’s very upsetting’
The North Bay Regional Health Centre has confirmed to BayToday that it is planning layoffs that will affect 40 positions at the local hospital.
A source says all departments have held meetings with directors and vice presidents to announce the cutbacks, but no official public announcement has been made.
“We have been advised that organization-wide layoffs are going to start, and a lot of hours are getting cut back. They are going to be eliminating vacant positions that they were originally hiring for and eliminating temporary positions. They are encouraging people to retire earlier, and they’re going to be laying off people with low seniority,” says the source.
BayToday has agreed not to identify the sources, as they fear retaliation.
“They’re telling us that they do not want this to go public. I don’t think that’s right. They’re a public organization. They can’t hide this kind of stuff. It’s very upsetting.”
“I can confirm that 40 positions will be impacted,” said Kim McElroy, the hospital’s director of communications. “These will be partially offset by 14 new positions and minimized by early exit, retirement, and redeployment offers.”
Details are scant, given the scope of the layoffs, but McElroy says in an email, “We are making these changes to find savings of $5.6M dollars.”
BayToday has asked for an interview with senior management to clarify details, and this story will be updated as further information becomes available.
Meanwhile, the source says that when employees asked about the additional workload, because they already feel overworked, they were told, “We’ll have to redistribute, and those who remain in the organization will have to be ‘good team members,’ is how they told us. People are very upset.”
BayToday also contacted the workers’ union CUPE, but got no response.
The North Bay Regional Health Centre provides acute care services to North Bay and its surrounding communities, and it is the specialized mental health service provider serving all of northeast Ontario.
NBRHC has 433 beds and numerous outpatient and outreach services in North Bay and throughout the northeast region.