Davenport, Iowa-based Genesis Health System filed notices with the U.S. Department of Labor and the Iowa state government indicating its plans to lay off almost 200 employees in June. However, those employees will not be out of work, according to the Quad-City Times.
The health system filed a notice with Iowa Workforce Development earlier this month indicating it plans to lay off 196 employees June 30.
A GHS official told the publication the layoffs are associated with the system's recent merger with Johnston, Iowa-based senior care and hospice provider WesleyLife.
"Because of our new partnership with WesleyLife of Des Moines, our existing employees who work in senior living facilities will become employees of this new organization, the joint organization. … Nobody is losing a job," a GHS spokesperson told the Quad-City Times. "This is a requirement by federal law, an adjustment like this. And it's not really an adjustment because all of the employees will still be our employees, it's just that they will be employed by this joint organization."
During a Jan. 16 press conference about the merger, WesleyLife President and CEO Rob Kretzinger said all current GHS employees would transfer their employee status to the joint organization and would have the same pay, same role and comparable benefits.
The GHS spokesperson said all employees were notified of the impending change in employer throughout the merger process.
Employees' effective rehire date is July 1.
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