Washington University School of Medicine said it would furlough 1,300 employees and cut salaries of school leaders and some faculty in response to the financial stresses created by the coronavirus, including an operating loss of close to $60 million for the first month of the pandemic alone, reported KMOV4.
The furlough is expected to continue for three months, during which affected employees will continue to receive benefits and can file for unemployment. Meanwhile, executive faculty and leadership at the School of Medicine have agreed to take pay cuts of 15-20%, effective May 1.
Dr. David H. Perlmutter (left).Academic beds are, and continue to be, empty and the school’s clinics are seeing 60% fewer patients, said Dr. David H. Perlmutter, executive vice chancellor for Medical Affairs. This has led to higher expenses and lower revenue.
“Even an institution as strong as Washington University School of Medicine doesn’t have the ability to withstand this degree of losses for an extended period of time,” Dr. Perlmutter said in a letter to staff members.
