Memorial Sloan Kettering slashed hundreds of jobs last week, more than half of them located on the Upper East Side, according to a required filing with the New York State State Department of Labor and confirmed by the world-renowned UES cancer center.
A total of 337 employees were laid off, according to the document. Memorial Sloan Kettering says the terminated employees, who spanned multiple departments and levels, were notified last Tuesday, January 17th, that their positions had been eliminated.
The cancer center tells Upper East Site the layoffs are “a result of financial challenges that persist across the healthcare industry.”
Sloan Kettering employs more than 22,000 people, so the workforce reduction, as they call it, affects fewer than two percent of their headcount. The layoffs affect non-union employees and are spread across twelve MSKCC buildings on the Upper East Side, as well as two in Midtown.
The main hospital, located at 1275 York Avenue, between 67th and 68th Streets, is losing 127 jobs.
“This reduction was necessary to ensure that [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center] can continue to invest in the future of cancer care, research, and education for the benefit of generations to come,” said a MSKCC spokesperson.
“Every effort has been made to ensure that patient care is not impacted.”
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The layoffs did not come without warning, as the cuts were confirmed by the cancer center after leaked memo was obtained by PIX11 last November. Patch was first to report the notice filed with the state.
MSKCC had losses more than $254 million alone through the third quarter of last year, blaming the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to its most recent financial filing from last fall.
“The Institution has just begun to see some patient activity close to pre-pandemic levels,” the filing states, “however, the activities have not increased as quickly as planned.”
To see the list of affected MSKCC locations, click here.
