Home » Interstate Lane — October 2013

Interstate Lane — October 2013

By Karen Baird

INDIANA: IU Health to cut 800 jobs in face of declining reimbursements

Interstate_Indiana_University_HealthIndiana University Health informed its staff last month that some 800 jobs will be eliminated by Dec. 1 as part of an effort to reduce expenditures by 25 percent – roughly $1 billion.

In an email sent to IU Health staff members, IU Health President and CEO Dan Evans said, “We adopted this goal because we fully expect that the future reimbursement environment, from all payers, will look much like Medicare does today. In addition, we believe that managing the health of populations – helping to keep Hoosiers healthy rather than caring for them only when they are ill – is how we will increasingly be reimbursed by public and private payers in the future. To manage ‘population health’ well, we will need to significantly invest in new technologies and processes – and we will need to do so in the face of worsening reimbursements.”

The job cuts will affect staff members at seven IU Health hospitals, which have a total of approximately 36,000 employees. In an attempt to minimize the impact, IU Health is offering an early retirement option to certain eligible staff members. According to a report by the Indiana Business Journal, the layoffs will affect both clinical and administrative staff members.

Earlier this summer, Indianapolis-based St. Vincent Health laid off 865 employees as part of a decision by parent company Ascension Heath Alliance to eliminate 5,000 workers.

TENNESSEE: Nissan supplier expands 3 plants, creating 1,200 new jobs

Calsonic Kansei North America Inc., one of Nissan’s major suppliers, has announced plans to expand three of its Tennessee plants, creating 1,200 new manufacturing jobs.

The company is investing $49.8 million at its Lewisburg, Tenn., facility, where it produces electronic components for meters, inverters and dash electronics and plastics components for interiors. Approximately 526 new jobs will be created over the next three years, in addition to the 1,117 people already employed there. The investment will also include the construction of a new 300,000-s.f. warehouse facility.

CKNA is investing another $57.6 million at its Shelbyville, Tenn., plant, which manufactures exhaust units, catalytic converters and manifolds. The company currently employs a workforce of 1,010 at the Shelbyville location and plans to add another 489 new jobs.

The company is investing $2.1 million at its Smyrna, Tenn., facility, which is located within the Nissan plant and places Calsonic products into the Nissan vehicles. The expansion will add 183 new jobs to the existing 469-member staff.

The expansions are expected to be complete by the end of 2015.