The Ottawa Hospital says it will be able to substantially lower the number of involuntary job cuts after having announced it would be cutting three per cent of its workforce earlier this year. In April, the hospital said it had implemented a series of measures to reduce budget pressures and find savings that included cuts to approximately 400 positions. Ottawa Hospital spokesperson Michaela Schreiter says it has limited the number of involuntary departures to 17, or 0.15 per cent of the overall workforce. Schreiter says the hospital was able to reduce the number of job cuts through “vacancy management and early retirement options.” The Ottawa Hospital told CTV News last April that it has been working with the Ontario government to “address the financial challenges facing the health-care sector.” The Ottawa Hospital is one of the region’s largest employers. According to the Ottawa Hospital’s 2024-25 annual report, there are 13,281 employees at the hospital, including 5,200 nurses, 1,724 physicians and 1,186 resident physicians. It operates three main campuses across Ottawa: The General Campus, the Civic Campus and the Riverside Campus. Other hospitals across the region have also announced job cuts this year. In July, the Queensway Carleton Hospital announced it would be cutting 119 positions, including 87 registered nursing jobs, as part of a plan to trim one per cent of its workforce to address financial pressures. Bruyère Health said 46 personal care attendants and nine registered practice nurse positions would go through a “redeployment process.” “The redeployment process includes reassignment and transfer, canvassing for voluntary departures, and potential layoffs. We are following structured processes defined in the collective agreement,” Bruyère Health told CTV News Ottawa. With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Josh Pringle
