UNOS lays off some employees following furloughs caused by shutdown

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Richmond-based nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which is federally contracted to oversee organ transplants in the U.S., has laid off some of its staff following furloughs of 90 employees due to the federal government shutdown.

In a social media post on Monday, Nov. 3, UNOS, which operates the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), shared a statement from CEO Maureen McBride that said the nonprofit was laying off some of its staff.

"Today has been a difficult day for UNOS, and we had to make the difficult decision to reduce our workforce," the post said.

8News asked a spokesperson for the nonprofit how many staff members were laid off, what their positions were, and how this affects patient care, to which UNOS shared the following statement:

"UNOS continuously evaluates our operations to be able to serve the donation and transplant community and our partners. We regularly make changes to our staff size and structure to put us in the best position to maintain successful operations.

We have recently adjusted our staffing level to match our current and future business needs. And as operational needs change, we will continue to review our staffing needs."

The layoffs follow the furlough of 90 employees announced in early October that UNOS said were due to the federal government shutdown.