William Beaumont Hospital outside Detroit this week said it would cut 353 jobs, its third round of layoffs in a year.
One of the area’s largest — and formerly one of its most financially secure — hospital systems, Beaumont suffered a round of downgrades last year from all three rating agencies. It has since scaled back much of its planned capital borrowing and laid off nearly 600 positions prior to the latest round of cuts.
“Through outstanding expense management and better revenue management, we had gone from a $30 million loss last year to a positive $13.8 million net operating income through the end of June this year,” Beaumont chief executive Kenneth Matzick said. “But our progress has been eroded by market conditions — such as continued job and insurance loss, below-budget patient volumes, and a continued shift to government insurers that pay us less. We were at risk of losing money for a second year and can’t let that happen.”
Fitch Ratings rates the system’s debt A, Moody’s Investors Service rates it A1 with a negative outlook, and Standard & Poor’s rates it A with a stable outlook.
