Fred Hutch lays off staff in IT, HIV research

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center laid off an undisclosed number of employees Wednesday.

Many of the cuts were part of a reorganization of the nonprofit’s IT department, and not due to a loss of federal funding, according to spokesperson Christina VerHeul. But she said some positions were eliminated as a result of reduced federal funding for HIV-related grants. The layoffs will not affect patient care, according to VerHeul.

Andrea Galvan was one of the IT workers Fred Hutch let go this week. She worked as a business systems analyst and estimates that about 30 employees in her department were laid off.

“I was envisioning myself retiring with Fred Hutch,” she said. “It's an amazing organization. I loved working there."

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Galvan is a single mom, and she’s nervous about job hunting at a tenuous time for the economy, with many organizations under hiring freezes.

Fred Hutch is in particularly murky waters as it waits to see whether broader proposed funding cuts by the Trump administration will take effect.

“There's a lot of unknowns still on how it’s specifically going to impact all the people in our organization,” Galvan said. “There's a lot of unease.”

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