A WARN notice filed by Sodexo shows 288 employees are expected to be affected when the company ends its operations at an HCA facility on June 13. The change comes after HCA notified Sodexo it would no longer use the company for food and nutrition services, opting instead to bring those operations in-house.

“Workers may be retained or rehired by HCA Healthcare at their discretion and we are supporting employees through this transition,”  a Sodexo spokesperson told Chron. 

According to the WARN filing, the affected workers span a wide range of roles, including cooks, dietitians, food service workers and patient-facing positions such as healthcare hosts. The notice also states the action is expected to be permanent, though the long-term impact on individual workers may depend on whether they are rehired under the new structure.

All locations impacted are within the Gulf Coast Workforce Development Area, including HCA Kingwood, HCA Clear Lake, HCA Women’s Hospital of Texas, and HCA Southeast Texas Medical Center. 

While the filing technically classifies the change as a layoff under federal reporting requirements, HCA reiterated this as a transition in a statement to Chron about the shift in services.

“While Sodexo will no longer be managing the department, affected employees have been given the opportunity to continue their roles as team members of HCA Houston Healthcare facilities,” HCA’s Media Relations Director Marsha Buchanan said.Â