Mass General Brigham has told Digital employees that it’s offering buyouts, as the health care behemoth called it a “difficult decision” to cut down its workforce.

MGB Digital employees were informed about the voluntary separation program during a staff meeting last week. The “voluntary employee separation” application period opened on Nov. 1 and will close on Wednesday, Nov. 15, according to an internal confidential document obtained by the Herald.

The Digital team represents the technology division of Mass General Brigham.

“As we move toward a more modern technology infrastructure, we have made the difficult decision to offer volunteer separation to employees on our Digital team to better optimize our workforce while providing an opportunity for employees who may wish to leave the organization,” Mass General Brigham said in a statement on Thursday.

“Decisions like these are never easy and we strive to treat our employees with the dignity and respect they deserve while ensuring we are able to successfully carry out our mission well into the future,” the health care organization added.

Digital employees were given information about the buyout program, as well as consultations with HR to go over their options.

After the voluntary employee separation application period ends on Wednesday, Mass General Brigham on Nov. 22 will announce how many people took the buyouts.

“As care delivery changes, whether in a hospital or clinic setting or delivered remotely through in-person or virtual appointments, the tools and technology used to reach patients and support our mission also continues to evolve,” Mass General Brigham said in its statement.

“As a result of these changes, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of our Digital team, which represents the technology arm of Mass General Brigham, to better align our workforce resources and skills with our organizational needs and those of the communities we serve,” MGB added.

Last December, Mass General Brigham reported an operations loss of $432 million for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022. The health care system cited historic cost inflation, significant workforce shortages, and a worsening capacity crisis.

In MGB’s latest financial report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, the system reported an overall profit of $437 million. MGB had an operating income of $69 million for the quarter. The labor and supply cost pressures that began to intensify last spring had moderated, but continued to impact operating performance, according to MGB.

“Healthcare organizations across the country, including Mass General Brigham, are making modest progress toward financial recovery, but we still have much more work to do,” Niyum Gandhi, MGB’s chief financial officer and treasurer, said in the third quarter report. “Our recent performance improvement reflects systemwide initiatives to address capacity constraints but we also need to moderate our expense growth trend through productivity enhancement and resource stewardship to meet our annual budget targets and position Mass General Brigham for long-term financial stability.”