Kansas City, Mo. ? In the first three weeks since it bought Health Midwest, HCA Inc. has laid off 130 people, and more cuts are likely.

The initial job cuts, which were expected, came mostly in the former Health Midwest corporate office.

Those laid off included former Health Midwest executives and employees in areas such as payroll, accounting and human resources. He said another 110 former Health Midwest employees are working in HCA jobs that will or might be phased out.

HCA officials said last year that the company would not lay off employees if it bought Health Midwest. HCA officials subsequently have said that commitment applied to employees in hospitals and related care facilities, but not to those who worked in Health Midwest administration.

“The goal of doing this in a fairly short period of time is so that as many people as possible would know their futures,” said HCA spokesman Jeff Prescott.