Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health laid off about 40 leadership-level employees, or fewer than 2% of its leaders, last week throughout the organization, Alan Wolf, a health system spokesperson, confirmed in a statement shared with Becker's on Nov. 21.
"This decision was not taken lightly," Mr. Wolf said. "We understand the impact it has on people and are doing everything possible to support them. We're moving to a more contemporary and sustainable leadership structure that ensures we have the right number of leaders overseeing front-line teammates."
He said the layoffs did not include C-suite roles and were mostly at the vice president level. "The decision to create a more modern and sustainable leadership structure was made by UNC Health executives and our Transformation Leadership Team," Mr. Wolf added. "We benchmarked our leadership structure to current industry-leading practices. Decisions for which roles were impacted were made by leaders within the departments."
Mr. Wolf said UNC Health has partnered with Right Management, a Milwaukee-based global talent and career management firm specializing in outplacement, career management, and leader development, to support affected employees. The health system is also offering severance and assistance in finding new roles within the organization.
UNC Health has about 40,000 employees across North Carolina, according to its LinkedIn page.