Fairview eliminating 240 jobs

Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services is cutting its workforce by 240 positions. Of those, the company says 70 are considered actual layoffs. The rest will come through attrition, or are positions the company will leave unfilled.

Spokesman Ryan Davenport says the job cuts will span the organization and include all job classes, including administration and patient care support.

Davenport blamed first-quarter operating losses and the need to cut spending for the job reductions.

"Lower than expected hospital patient volumes, certainly a need to reduce our costs," said Davenport. "We are certainly anticipating cuts unfavorable to hospitals and health care systems at the state and federal level, so this is really a move to try and respond to those factors."

Davenport says Fairview began notifying employees of the pending cuts earlier this month. The job cuts amount to just over 1 percent of Fairview's 21,000-person total workforce, and should be complete by the end of June.