Connecticut-based Johnson Health Group cuts 5.8% of work force

The Johnson Health Network, including Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, CT, laid off the equivalent of 76 full-time employees as part of an effort to lift the hospital out of the red. The layoffs came less than three weeks after Peter Betts, a specialist in hospital turnarounds, took over as interim president and CEO of the network. In 2007, Johnson decided to add 120 jobs, expecting an increase in patients that never materialized. The new cuts represented about 5.8% of the total 1,300-person workforce. In addition to layoffs, 40 vacant positions were eliminated.