Planned Parenthood lays off staff as it restructures following Roe reversal

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA)—the reproductive healthcare giant at the center of the fight for US abortion access—is laying off dozens of employees one year after the Supreme Court reversed long-standing abortion protections under Roe v. Wade.

The layoffs—which are set to take effect in July, according to an internal document shared with Healthcare Brew—come as the national nonprofit restructures its organization in response to new restrictions and bans on abortion sparked by the court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Staff were notified of the layoffs on June 12, three weeks after PPFA announced its new strategy and restructuring plans, which included a $70+ million investment in Planned Parenthood affiliates.

PPFA President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said in late May that the “shift in strategy and resource prioritization requires a reduction in our current workforce.” PPFA employed 737 people in 2020, according to its latest tax documents.

She added in a June 12 blog post that “the people who are leaving are incredibly passionate, brilliantly talented individuals” and had “an enormous impact on this organization.”

“While I know our new strategy is the right one for the organization and our movement, it does not make it easier to say goodbye to our friends and colleagues,” Johnson wrote.

But critics, like 1199SEIU Senior EVP Veronica Turner, have asked the nonprofit to “urgently reassess these damaging layoffs.” The layoffs affect 37 members of 1199SEIU—a healthcare union which represents more than 450,000 workers across Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC.

“At a time when abortion rights are being curtailed across the country and Planned Parenthood’s advocacy and community-based healthcare services are more important than ever, PPFA should not be letting go staff members whose contributions have been crucial to the movement,” Turner said in a Tuesday statement. “We condemn PPFA’s lack of collaboration with its employees and their unions in navigating a major restructuring.”

PPFA spokesperson Adrienne Verrilli told Healthcare Brew that the “new federation-wide strategy and restructuring…prioritizes supporting the delivery of more equitable care to more communities, deploying resources directly into patient care and education, technology, and building power to defend our freedom.”

She added that the decision to lay off staff was “not related to resources.”