Kaiser Permanente lays off 20

Kaiser Permanente lays off 20

Kaiser Permanente lays off 20

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s largest health maintenance organization is laying off 20 employees in a streamlining effort.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii announced Tuesday it is laying off 20 management and nonunion workers.

The company has about 4,400 employees in Hawaii.

Kaiser spokeswoman Lori Abe said in an email that the company hopes the affected workers will choose to remain by applying for open positions with the company.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii reported a $200,000 loss in the second quarter. That compares to a $2.8 million gain for the same period last year.

Kaiser says the loss was partly due to increased emergency room usage that can lower profits when the company does not get fully reimbursed.