Mass General Brigham has warned employees that the health care giant will be forced to layoff workers if not enough staff members take buyouts this month.

MGB is offering buyouts to the Digital team, which is the technology division of Mass General Brigham. The Digital employees were told about the “voluntary employee separation” program last week, and workers have until Nov. 15 to decide whether they want to take the buyout.

Mass General Brigham will layoff employees if MGB falls short of their buyout goals.

“In the event we do not reach our Voluntary Employee Separation targets, we will need to make the difficult decision to announce a reduction in force the week of December 4,” reads an internal MGB confidential document obtained by the Herald.

The number of buyouts will be capped at 15% of MGB’s Digital employee headcount, and the buyouts are being offered to staff members with a minimum of six months of service with Mass General Brigham.

MGB’s buyout offer includes two weeks of severance for every year of service, versus the health care organization’s standard separation package of one week of severance for every year of service. There’s a 52-week cap on severance compared to MGB’s standard 24-week cap on severance. The 24-week cap on benefits remains the same.

“The healthcare industry is facing significant challenges, especially as we work to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic,” MGB wrote in the internal document about why they’re offering buyouts. “Mass General Brigham is no exception — like many health systems across the nation, we have struggled with capacity management, acute care and more.

“The financial climate across the healthcare industry, and our need to address shifting patient demands has created an inevitable need to address our staffing model,” MGB later added. “To meet operational and financial enterprise goals, we are faced with the difficult decision of reducing our Digital employee workforce and are conducting a comprehensive review of our teams’ skills and capabilities. We had the opportunity to provide our employees with a choice, which is why Voluntary Employee Separation is being offered before moving to a reduction in force.”

Mass General Brigham said it reserves the right to decline buyout applications, based on the employee’s tenure with the organization. If MGB has rejected a buyout application, that worker’s role will be protected from any layoffs for a year.