EHR Vendor Cerner Announces 'Hundreds' of Layoffs, Workforce Reduction

EHR vendor Cerner Corporation has announced that it is currently going through a reduction of their workforce that is expected to effect hundreds of employees according to a news report from KCTV5.

Update 06/11/2021: Cerner has clarified that the number of employees laid of totals to 500.

Even with the layoffs, Cerner will still be Kansas City’s largest private employer with 13,000 employees at last count, Misti Preston, Cerner’s director of external communications and public relations, said.

While Preston did not provide an exact number of layoffs, she said the number is in the hundreds.

The EHR vendor has not filed WARN layoff notices with Missouri or Kansas, Preston noted. These notices cover mass layoffs or closings as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1989.

Those affected by the layoffs will receive severance packages, Preston said.

Despite the layoffs, Cerner is hiring for other positions; the EHR vendor said that it plans to hire 2,600 people by the end of 2021.

“Cerner remains committed to positioning the company for future success,” the vendor wrote in a statement to KCTV5. “We are focused on delivering a higher order of benefits for clients, associates and shareholders. Our recent actions demonstrate our continued enterprise-wide transformation work - ensuring we more efficiently deliver value to clients and set the company on a path to long-term, profitable growth.”

Earlier this year, Brent Shafer, Cerner Board chairman and chief executive officer, announced his exit from the company in its 2021 Q1 earnings call.

“Cerner is on the right trajectory, with increased financial guidance based on actions we are taking to improve performance,” Shafer said in the call. “With the support of the entire organization, we have simplified the business while implementing a new operating model to make Cerner more efficient and effective. We have strengthened our senior leadership team, including the recent addition of Mark Erceg as our CFO, and I believe we now have the right team assembled to drive our company forward.”

Until the board has identified and appointed a new successor, Shafer will remain as the chairman and CEO of the company, Cerner said on the earnings call. After Cerner chooses a new chairman and CEO , Shafer will transition to a senior advisor role for a year.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Brent for his leadership, dedication and commitment to advancing client success and the quality of healthcare, particularly with the unprecedented events of the last year,” William Zollars, lead independent director of the Cerner Board, said in the earnings call. “The Board believes that now is the right time to identify a successor to Brent who will lead Cerner through its next chapter of growth and shareholder value creation.”