Employees respond to the most recent round of UAMS layoffs

Little Rock, Arkansas – Dozens of workers are being let go by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. It follows the dismissal of more than 250 individuals just a few short years ago.

The hospital said that it was the result of inflation, but the staff feels that this isn’t the whole picture.

Support services, administration, and service lines are the exact areas that will be impacted, according to a UAMS representative.

To preserve their privacy, the identities of the employees have been hidden, and their voices have also been changed.

“You know, there is a lot going on right now and we feel like we are being left out and we are real scared right now,” the unidentified employee said.

After the hospital announced it would be laying off over 50 staff members owing to the consequences of inflation, fear gripped UAMS staff once more.

“It’s been a challenging year for us, we have had an operating loss unfortunately,” Chief Financial Officer for UAMS, Amanda George said.

These layoffs occurred not long after UAMS fired more than 250 workers in 2018.

Employees claimed that they are all too familiar with this stress and anxiety.

“My department, my team, we were all scared, terrified, our first thought was it’s happening again,” an unidentified employee said.

UAMS said in a statement provided to our station that they continue to look at ways to be productive, which may involve rearranging some areas.

This indicates that they are not filling unfilled positions as quickly as feasible and that previously given job functions are now being taken up by another.

About a month ago, the Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer of UAMS released a video in which they claimed their problems were due to a loss of revenue.

“Escalating labor costs, escalating supply costs, inflation, covid, all of those things have led to the financial situation,” George stated.

Employees stated that this has a significant impact on numerous families and has left them with many unanswered issues as some students return to school next week.

“Were they given severance packages, what kind of services were provided for them for their families, could they be rehired if business picks back up,” an unidentified UAMS employee stated.

According to UAMS, the human resources division offers one-on-one services to help employees find other employment, whether it be in one of the open roles at UAMS or elsewhere.

“We need some answers here and we don’t need to be fearful that we won’t have jobs and be able to provide for our families and that’s weighing on a lot of people’s hearts and minds right now,” an unidentified employee stated.