Senior living operator Enlivant is laying off 284 employees at its Chicago corporate support center, according to a notification the company filed with the Illinois state government.
The state announced May 31 that Enlivant had filed notice of the layoffs on May 16 with the state under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The rule requires employers with 75 or more full-time employees to give workers, as well as state and local government officials, 60 days advance notice of a plant closing or mass layoff.
According to the report, 284 employees will be affected by permanent layoffs. In July, 194 employees are expected to be let go, followed by 65 layoffs in September, eight in October and 17 in December. The notice listed “closing” as the type of event for the layoffs but did not provide details.
Sabra Health Care REIT announced in August 2021 that it planned to exit a joint venture with TPG Real Estate, leading to a financial restructuring of the Enlivant portfolio, which Sabra said had “taken a hit during the pandemic.”
An audit report earlier this spring found “substantial doubt” about the joint venture’s 157-community Enlivant portfolio’s ability to continue as a going concern. The audit said the COVID-19 pandemic had created significant cost increases and lost revenue, resulting in declining income and cash flow that led to a default of its credit facility and portage notes debt agreements.
Outside of the joint venture, as of May, Sabra also owned 11 Enlivant communities for which it was seeking new operators.
Enlivant was the 13th largest operator and 16th largest owner of senior living communities in the country, according to the 2022 ASHA 50 list compiled by the American Seniors Housing Association. The company was No. 12 overall and No. 4 for assisted living on Argentum’s 2022 list of largest senior living companies.
Enlivant had not responded to requests for comment from McKnight’s Senior Living by the production deadline.
