New York-Presbyterian, facing economic headwinds, is laying off approximately 1,000 employees, roughly 2% of its staff.
The hospital announced the plans in a video from CEO Steven Corwin to staff that was first reported by Politico. Health system spokeswoman Angela Karafazli cited “current macroeconomic realities and anticipated challenges ahead” as the reason for the layoffs.
The layoffs will impact administrative and clinical positions at multiple levels, according to the hospital. It is not clear what specific programs would see a headcount reduction.
The news comes as hospitals across the country brace for drastic cuts to Medicaid from Congressional Republicans and parallel reductions in federal health research funding under the Trump administration. New York-Presbyterian is also contending with a $750 settlement the health system agreed to pay with Columbia University, its affiliate, to the victims of disgraced former ob-gyn Robert Hadden, who has been accused of sexually abusing 576 patients over more than two decades and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023 for related crimes. A spokesperson for the hospital said the layoffs were not directly related to the Hadden settlement.
The layoffs coincide with Columbia’s plans to end the employment of 180 employees in the face of $400 million in cuts from the Trump administration related to the university’s handling of protests against the war in Gaza last year and across-the-board cuts to health studies, including tens of millions of dollars in research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Hospitals are also vulnerable to market volatility stirred by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have the potential to raise the price of medical supplies, drugs and construction costs. The health system had $336 million in operating income, a 4.2% margin, in the first three quarters of 2024, according to its most recent financial statement.
