Massachusetts-based digital health care services provider athenahealth, which has major operations in Maine, said Thursday that it is laying off about 500 employees across all its operations – about 9 percent of its total workforce.

The company said it employs about 1,000 workers in Belfast but would not disclose how many would be let go as a result of the restructuring.

“What I can tell you is that athenahealth remains a committed employer in Maine,” company spokeswoman Victoria Gavaza said via email. “While we’re not breaking out the numbers in terms of impact, the vast majority of those impacted are from the Watertown headquarters and Atlanta office. Our most recently publicly shared total headcount is 5,600 employees, with approximately 1,000 in Belfast.”

The company also reported Thursday in its most recent quarterly financial report that it would close offices in San Francisco and Princeton, New Jersey.

According to the Maine Center for Workforce Research and Information, athenahealth is the 35th-largest employer in Maine by workforce size, based on figures from January 2017.

Earlier this year, athenahealth was reportedly reorganizing in response to pressure from activist hedge-fund manager Paul Singer of Elliott Associates, who announced that he held a 9.2 percent share in the company and wanted greater shareholder value.

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In its third-quarter earnings report, athenahealth outlined a goal of reducing costs by $100 million to $115 million by the end of 2018.

The reorganization would “result in a leaner, more simplified structure that is more responsive to client needs and is expected to improve employee engagement by increasing efficiencies, streamlining workflow, and enhancing accountability,” the report said.

“All geographies are impacted to varying extents, with most significant changes happening across sales, marketing, general and administrative functions, and some client-facing teams,” Gavaza said.

Athenahealth came to Maine in 2008 when it took over an unused 53-acre campus build by credit card giant MBNA. Two years earlier, Bank of America bought MBNA and shut down four call centers in Maine, including the Belfast operation.

Ethan Andrews of the Republican Journal contributed to this report.

 


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