VU Medical Ctr. announces layoffs; €40m budget cuts

VUmc's CEO Wouter Bos (former Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of Finance) informed employees of the medical center in Amsterdam that VUmc has to make big cutbacks and this will likely have consequences for the staff. The medical center has to make a 20 million euro budget cut in 2015. The amount will increase to 40 million euro in 2017. A spokesperson for the VUmc said that it is impossible to say with certainty how many layoffs there will be. "Every effort will be made to prevent forced redundancies." she said. Final decisions will be made by the end of the year. Bos wrote in the letter to his employees that the money has to come partly from the reduction of personnel costs of overhead functions. For example from project leaders, secretariat and staff engaged in education, ICT, quality and safety. Additionally the medical center wants to make cheaper purchases and work more efficiently. Bos writes that the cuts are necessary because costs are rising faster than revenues.