JFL and Schneider Confirm Workforce Reductions as Hospitals Target 10% Cut in Personnel Costs

The territory’s two public hospitals will move forward with a phased workforce reduction plan intended to cut personnel expenses by 10 percent at both facilities, beginning with position consolidation, resource sharing and a review of vacant posts before management considers employee separations.

Representatives of seven labor organizations met Tuesday with officials from the Juan F. Luis Hospital and Schneider Regional Medical Center to discuss the planned “optimization” of staffing across the public healthcare system.

The unions represented nurses, physicians, security guards and other hospital employees, according to a release issued by JFL.

Hospital officials said the plan is intended to “strengthen long-term operational and financial sustainability while maintaining quality healthcare services for the Virgin Islands Community.”

Personnel Costs Targeted for Reduction

The initiative is primarily a cost-cutting measure, with hospital leadership noting “that personnel costs make up a significant portion of both hospitals’ budgets.”

Management intends to reduce those costs through “resource sharing, position consolidation through job sharing, retirements, and reviewing vacant positions,” followed by employee separations if necessary.

The overall objective is to achieve a 10 percent reduction in personnel expenses at each hospital.

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