IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa City hospital has informed state officials it plans to lay off 29 employees because of losses suffered during the coronavirus outbreak. The Gazette reports that Mercy Iowa City filed notice of the layoffs with Iowa Workforce Development, noting that the layoffs will be effective Nov. 21. According to Mercy Iowa City spokesman Aaron Scheinblum, the layoffs will affect a variety of non-specific areas in the hospital.

The notice was filed days before the hospital announced last month that it would close its inpatient mental and behavioral health unit. Scheinblum says the layoffs are not specifically tied to that unit.