Watertown, Mass.-based athenahealth, a provider of medical record, revenue cycle, patient engagement, care coordination and population health services, will cut its total workforce by approximately 9 percent.
The company, which confirmed the news to Becker's Friday, said the layoffs are a result of a new organizational design that "will enable us to be more responsive to client needs and is expected to improve employee engagement by increasing efficiencies, streamlining workflow and enhancing accountability." The majority of the layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of this year.
"We do not take the decision to reduce our workforce lightly, but these are necessary changes to enable athenahealth to succeed over the long term," company officials said. "We are committed to providing all impacted employees with the appropriate resources and severance packages to assist them in transitioning to new positions outside the organization. Our goal is to preserve and build upon athenahealth's culture of innovation, while ensuring that resources and talent are appropriately aligned with growth and the significant upside opportunities for the company."
Athenahealth did not provide specific numbers related to the layoffs or disclose where exactly they would take place. However, the company did say "all geographies are impacted to varying extents, with most significant changes happening across sales, marketing, general and administrative functions, and some client-facing teams." According to The Boston Globe, the company is eliminating about 500 jobs out of its total workforce of about 5,600. Additionally, athenahealth plans to close its San Francisco and Princeton, N.J., offices, the publication states.
The layoffs were announced two months after athenahealth revealed plans to implement strategic initiatives related to the company's finances and operations.
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