UPMC has announced that it will be laying off part of its workforce. In a statement, Paul Wood, the vice president and chief communication officer, said the health care system “continues to face the realities of a still-evolving, post-pandemic marketplace” and as a response to the ongoing challenges says “limited reductions are occurring.” Wood says the reductions are primarily taking place among non-clinical, non-member-facing, administrative staff through attrition, closing of open positions and elimination of redundancies, among other actions. “This realignment will not alter UPMC’s investments in our communities, facilities, commitment to clinical care and research, strategic growth, or to offering those throughout our workforce industry-leading benefits. Wood says the actions impact just over 1% of staff among its more than 100,000-person workforce, meaning at least 1,000 people are being impacted by the layoffs. Meanwhile, Republican State Representative Tim O’Neal issued a statement saying: “While I have great empathy for the UPMC staff who will be laid off, I have spoken to UPMC leaders, and its commitment to Washington Health System (WHS) will not change as a result of this announcement. “UPMC promises to retain all WHS staff for at least 10 years if the merger is approved. While today’s news is upsetting, without this merger, we risk losing local access to health care. I again urge Gov. Josh Shapiro to encourage the attorney general to approve the plan.”