COLUMBUS - Hughston Clinic, which has a network of orthopedic care centers in Georgia and Alabama, has laid off 75 people, cutting labor costs from $9 million to $7 million, a consultant said. <br>
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The across-the-board cuts comprise almost a fourth of Hughston's 309 employees, said the consultant, Usman Mirza, who will become chief executive officer of the not-for-profit clinic after current CEO Charlie Keaton retires Dec. 31. <br>
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``We've gone through a very detailed analysis of every department,'' said Mirza, who managed the Hope Star Orthopedic Group in San Antonio prior to arriving in Columbus six weeks ago. ``The first thing I looked at was where we are with our overhead and our overhead was extremely high.'' <br>
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Hughston has two clinics in Columbus and seven others in Albany, Cordele, LaGrange, Valdosta and Vidalia, Ga., and Auburn and Eufaula, Ala. Columbus-based physicians travel to other clinics to treat patients. <br>
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Of the 75 job cuts among physician-support personnel, 49 will be in Columbus. Mirza said employee costs account for as much as 70 percent of the clinic's $13 million annual budget.
