ECMC to cut 3% workforce in 2026 amid financial strains

ECMC will cut about 3% of mostly non-clinical jobs and furlough management staff for one week in 2026 due to rising costs and inadequate reimbursement

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Medical Center says it is reducing its workforce by about 3% and implementing a one-week unpaid furlough for management confidential employees in 2026, citing ongoing financial pressures.

Hospital officials said the decision comes amid inadequate reimbursements from both public and private payers, including Medicaid cuts, along with inflationary costs and other financial challenges. The workforce reductions will be concentrated mostly in non-clinical areas.

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ECMC officials said the hospital is facing challenges similar issues other safety-net hospitals across New York state and the country are facing; where rising costs are not being matched by reimbursements that fully cover patient care.

The hospital also pointed to what it described as an alarming rate of payment denials and delays by insurance companies for patient care services.

Despite the cuts, ECMC said it has not closed any programs. Instead, the hospital has made targeted reductions in services to align with patient demand and financial realities.

Steve Healy, President of the CSEA Western Region, said in a statement:

“These staffing reductions affect employees across multiple unions as well as management positions at ECMC. CSEA is actively working with the employer during this process to protect our member’s contractual rights, including seniority and bumping provisions, and we are filing a class action grievance to ensure the process is handled correctly. Any reduction in staff at a public hospital raises serious concerns about service levels and the strain placed on the remaining workforce, which ultimately impacts the entire community it serves.”

The New York State Nurses Association released this statement in response to the layoffs:

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is deeply concerned about the layoffs at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), including layoffs of frontline nurses and other staff. In the midst of federal attacks on healthcare, our hospitals, including ECMC, should be looking for ways to protect safe, quality patient care for Western New Yorkers. Cuts to frontline staff will only diminish care for our patients in Buffalo and beyond who depend on ECMC, the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the region. NYSNA is in solidarity with all workers impacted by these layoffs. 

Crystal Knihinicki, RN, and NYSNA member at ECMC, said in a statement, “Nurses are disappointed in Erie County Medical Center’s decision to lay off workers, including several senior nurses with decades of experience at the bedside and nurse educators who provide trainings to staff across the hospital. The people of Buffalo and the surrounding communities rely heavily on ECMC for access to safe, quality patient care. If hospital executives need to cut costs, they should cut executive salaries and administrative expenses, not the essential frontline caregivers who care for patients and keep the hospital running. Nurses will push back on any threat to patient care, including the layoffs of frontline healthcare workers.”