Since acquiring EHR vendor Cerner, Oracle Health's local workforce has decreased, the Kansas City Business Journal reported April 30.
According to leaked documents obtained by the publication, in 2023 Oracle informed the Kansas City Area Development Council that Cerner employed 11,900 people locally in 2022. However, internal documents show the workforce has decreased to 6,400 since the $28.4 billion acquisition was completed in June 2022.
This comes as Oracle has made a succession of workforce reductions pertaining to the EHR company.
In August 2022, Oracle said it was considering a $1 billion cost reduction effort that included eliminating thousands of jobs. The workforce reduction affected Cerner employees, but Oracle did not mention how many employees would be laid off as part of the move.
In March, the company said it would conduct a second round of layoffs and was planning to enforce an in-office mandate for the remaining Cerner employees. The employees had been working remotely for about three years. The number of employees affected by this layoff also was not disclosed, but Oracle said the move was a part of another restructuring plan to save costs.
In June, people familiar with the matter reported that Oracle was laying off another round of Cerner employees as well as rescinding job offers and cutting back open positions. Oracle did not disclose how many employees were affected by this move.
The current number of local employees is significantly lower compared to Cerner's workforce before the acquisition, according to the publication. In 2019, Cerner had 14,000 full-time-equivalent employees locally, as reported by the 2019 Private-Sector Employers List, which was consistent with their 2018 figures. The company's employee count rose steadily from 6,800 in 2012 to its peak at 14,000 in 2018 and 2019.
Just before the acquisition in February 2022, Cerner reported 12,778 local full-time-equivalent employees. Although there was a trend of declining local employment prior to the acquisition, it was less severe than after the acquisition.
Oracle has also consolidated its workforce into its campus in the southern region of Kansas City, vacating former Cerner offices, which now hosts four Oracle Health offices.
Oracle did not respond to the publication's request for comment. Becker's reached out to Oracle for comment and will update this story if more is learned.