UMass Medical Schools Lays Off 63 Workers

The University of Massachusetts Medical School has laid off 63 employees, citing financial concerns over potential reductions in state and federal funding in coming years.

The school on Monday let go administrative workers, maintenance workers, security guards and fundraisers from the school's development office.

A spokesman tells The Telegram & Gazette the school anticipates less money from the National Institutes of Health and potentially less money from the state. He says the layoffs are a minor part of a larger effort to operate more effectively and efficiently.

The school and affiliated hospitals still employ nearly 6,600 people.

The layoffs came less than two months after Chancellor Michael Collins got a more than $60,000 a year raise. A spokesman says the two issues are unrelated.