Layoffs?

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Anyone else out there facing a potential layoff? Management has asked staff at my facility to volunteer to reduce FTEs before being forced to do so, with the possibility of layoffs in the future.

I always assumed a career in nursing would be secure. Looks like I was mistaken!

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Where in the midwest are you?

I had a difficult time finding places that are hiring graduate nurses in the kansas city area.

~BlueBug

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I have not heard this in my area just yet, but it can happen anywhere. Nursing is not recession proof. In addition, there are nurses returning to the field due to their other pursuits drying up due to the current economy and spouses getting laid off. We may get temporarily oversaturated.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

I am in the Detroit area, and the hospital system I work for isn't laying off anyone. We are short on our unit and need people.

However a competing system has had to halt a expansion project and lay off non nursing employees.

Another hospital had closed and re opened with 1/3 of the staff they had previously, along with only 1/3 of their beds.

So depending where you work and the area you are in, the market may be oversaturated.

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I'm in Minnesota.. Another local hospital has just laid off appx 300 people--I don't know if they were nursing positions or not.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I always assumed a career in nursing would be secure. Looks like I was mistaken!

Do not be fooled into thinking a nursing career is secure, since nurses are subject to layoffs just like workers in other industries. Nursing jobs are directly affected by the economy just like any other industry. Contrary to popular notions, nursing is NOT recession-proof. Some nurses remained unemployed for 6 months or longer as they looked for jobs during the early 1990s recession. That dire nursing glut persisted well into the middle 1990s before finally easing up in the late 1990s.

During recessions, patients avoid having elective surgeries because they are reluctant to take the time off work that is needed for full recovery, which leads to low hospital census. People would rather keep working than request time off from work to get a hip replacement, hysterectomy, laminectomy, or gastric bypass procedure. When hospital census is low, less nurses are needed to keep the floor running. Although people will always "need" healthcare, these same people will always delay or refuse healthcare during bad economic times to avoid accruing the medical bills.

More people become unemployed during these rough times and, as a result, lose their health insurance. Uninsured people are definitely not inclined to seek healthcare unless it is an absolute emergency. In addition, medical bills incurred by uninsured patients tend to go unpaid, which means less money for healthcare facilities.

Nursing jobs can never be outsourced, but nurses can be "insourced" by recruiting foreign nurses to work at US hospitals. These nurses are less likely to complain about working evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, and other undesirable shifts because they are earning more money in America than they ever would in their country of origin.

Thousands of part-time nurses accept full-time positions during recessions to keep their households afloat when their breadwinner spouses lose their jobs without notice. Thousands of retired nurses are reactivating their nursing licenses and returning to the nursing workforce due to the high costs of living coupled with the effects of dwindling retirement funds.

This is just some food for thought. This unfavorable economic climate is resulting in nursing layoffs, low census, and nurses' shifts getting canceled frequently. Just read the many threads and discussions on this forum about new graduate nurses who have been looking for jobs for several months.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

What our hospital system did do is place an announcement that there will be a freeze on hiring 'nonessential' positions. I work for civil service, which, historically, are pretty lax in their disciplinary procedures for time and attendence, and now, they are tightening their belts with this. Time is being scrutinized moreso than ever before and what may happen is they may decide to shave off staff. Part time workers may no longer have family insurance; they can only have beenies for themselves.

In the 1990s, I worked for the state, and during that time they took 5 days pay from us-a day a pay period (we were paid bi-weekly). This also affected city workers as well. Those days were held in abiance (did I spell that correctly), given back when a person left the service. They are speaking of this again. Not surprized. When I got hired at my hospital in 1996 as a Patient Care Associate, they laid off CNAs, phlebotomists, the IV team, etc...because they hired us, who were multi-tasking. I remember a senior CNA with 20+ years saying to me "Well, you know how it is...last hire, first fire". I said to her "Not sure about that". Due to her seniority, she, personally didn't get laid off, but others with less time did. This is a sad moment to me as we sit and wonder what will happen to us. Personally, I would rather see them reinistitute the 5 day take away than see anyone with families or seniority lose their jobs. In most cases, things can be worked out with bills these days, I notice. But, without a job, will multitudes of people in the same position, can lead to anarchy.

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Specializes in Trauma/E.R./ ICU.

It's happening in Mid-michigan. Tight scrutiny on hours worked- Absolutely NO OVERTIME (which has been hurting nurses who got used to having this "extra" income) Layoffs haven't happened yet- however there are hiring freezes and early retirement has been offered. These are usually precursors to layoffs. Just my observation with a little opinion mixed in.....

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

We had a doctor who was famous for working too late for our late clinic, which the hours are from 12-8:30pm. It was not unusual for us to leave at 10:00pm. Suddenly, the hospital changed this doctor's hours. It was not done out of consideration for the nurses having to stay with this guy or even the patients that had to endure this long wait (we had elderly patients as old as 70 waiting for him that had to take public transportation home), but it was because of the overtime money they had to pay us to stay. Something how dollars and cents interceded before patient care...huh?

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Specializes in CTICU, Interventional Cardiology, CCU.

I just found out some disturbing news last night. As of yesterday at my hosp. The CCU Nursing Director was laidoff alonf with the VP of Nursing and along with 36 other people.

Monday the hosp. is planning on laying off more people. There is talk about laying off 2 bedside nurses per floor. As it is we are always understaffed or being pulled out to other units. I work for a non-union hospital. I am scared to death that I am not going to have a job when I walk in monday night for my shift. There is talk of 200 jobs in total that are going to be gone by december.

Talk about a nail biting weekend and a great way to start the holidays!!!

As it stand in the last 3 weeks I have been pulled to 3 different units b/c they needed extra help. I go into work every night not knowing if I am going to be working on my floor or in another critical care unit. I am getting really worried.

We have families, morgages, car payments, I have a wedding comming up next year that my fiance and I have to pay for.

My fiance works for the NYPD and just found out yesterday that they arn't hiring any new recruis for the next year which is awful. That's 2 academy classes that are not going to become police officers and that also means no job advancement for the cops now, like my fiance. He just went through crime scene training and was promised a new position for nothing.

This is awful and I really wish we could go to bed or during the day at night knowing that when we walk into work if we are going to have a job or not!!

I think my IBS and GERD are going to working over time...better have the pepcid and the immodium handy this weekend!!

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

Very slow in my neck of the woods. Census is way down, no agency hours, very few travel nurse positions across the US.

Sending people home mid shifts to keep payroll as low as possible.

Some surrounding hospitals laying off staff.

It is a scary time for everyone. No one is safe.

Agency gigs only being scheduled in 4 hour shifts.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Anyone else out there facing a potential layoff? Management has asked staff at my facility to volunteer to reduce FTEs before being forced to do so, with the possibility of layoffs in the future.

I always assumed a career in nursing would be secure. Looks like I was mistaken!

They've asked the same at my hospital. They went one step further and stated that if it's not done before the first of the year there will be a RIF. The union wasn't happy about that but I don't know that there's much they can do. The uncertainty and stress is awful.

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