Leaders at Kansas University Medical Center have eliminated 80 jobs as part of an ongoing efficiency review on the Kansas City, Kan., campus.
The 80 jobs were staff positions and do not involve tenured faculty. The efficiency review, called Changing for Excellence, is still ongoing and was conducted with the assistance of the Huron Consulting Group. A similar efficiency review is ongoing at KU’s Lawrence campus.
KUMC employs about 3,900 people. C.J. Janovy, a KUMC spokeswoman, said the cuts came from across the organization and were not targeted at a specific area.
In a newsletter to the campus community, Barbara Atkinson, executive vice chancellor at KUMC and the executive dean of the KU School of Medicine, said the cuts came following budget cuts and employee performance reviews.
“We are painfully aware that due to severe pressures on the state budget, our employees have gone without raises for four years,” Atkinson wrote. “One reason we are asking leaders to make targeted cuts is so that we can begin to free up resources to correct that.”
The efficiency review at KUMC is also examining the best ways to re-invest the money saved, a process that could result in new jobs being created.
On KU’s Lawrence campus, the review so far has resulted in three layoffs, all in supervisory positions in the university’s facilities department, said Gavin Young, a KU spokesman. On the Lawrence campus, the review has called for the merger of the university’s facilities department with student housing’s facilities operations.
The cuts do not affect KU Hospital, which is operated separately from KU Medical Center.
Comments
booklover2 1 year, 1 month ago
Okay, so they are laying off people so they can give raises to others? That is messed up.
KRichards 1 year, 1 month ago
Why? Lay off the under performing and give raises to those the excel at their job. Seems like a great way to go about things.
Armstrong 1 year, 1 month ago
Hope and change as promised
walkthehawk 1 year, 1 month ago
you mean, as promised by Gov. Brownback? I would assume so, as the last I checked, he is the last word in STATE OF KANSAS funding decisions affecting STATE UNIVERSITIES and their facilities. We won't even get into the sorry state of financial affairs nationally in November, 2008--the reason we needed hope and change. so yeah, funding cuts. as promised. if you don't like it, vote differently next time--at the state level.
Cant_have_it_both_ways 1 year, 1 month ago
I would bet that it has more to do with the new requirements from Obamacare. There are a lot of people who are glad they voted for Obama, including those at the now closed down Chevy place on South Iowa. Isn't it great, you believe some politician full of untruths and wind up loosing your job.
Vote for that hope and change again and that is all you will get is the hope you have some spare change in your pocket.
Pragmatron 1 year, 1 month ago
What?
grammaddy 1 year, 1 month ago
What on earth does the Affordable Care Act have to do with the closing of a car lot?
dondraper 1 year, 1 month ago
Not sure how "Obamacare" influences the amount of money the state of Kansas pays its employees. Especially if the KU Medical Center and KU Lawrence has had a lot of inefficiencies with its staff over the years(more than a decade not trimming the redundancies). The state hires an efficiency consultant to correct these inefficiencies. Are you suggesting that an Employer never fixes its internal problems? If these entities acted like a corporation, downsizing would happen annually. If anything the state budget is shrinking year over year.
gccs14r 1 year, 1 month ago
Crown Automotive is alive and well as a VW and Toyota dealer. Dale Willey is also doing well, having picked up Chevrolet. Would you have preferred that both GM and Chrysler had failed, taking their Tier 1 suppliers with them? The knock-on effects of that would have led to 25% unemployment and bread lines.
misplacedcheesehead 1 year, 1 month ago
Since when is KU hospital operated separately from KUMC? The hospital itself is the heart of the Med Center.
dondraper 1 year, 1 month ago
KU Hospital charted itself in 1998, and is affiliated with KUMC, but is independent. KU hospital has its own charter and does not take any state funds from Kansas. They share the same buildings but they are separate entities. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universi...
toe 1 year, 1 month ago
I know the name of a person that is a prime embarrassment to the medical education profession. Barbara Atkinson
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