Healthcare group offers enhanced severance and outplacement as it consolidates business support services across three Asian markets
IHH Healthcare will cut about 380 jobs across Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia as it merges its business support services. The cuts sit in back-office functions, not on the hospital floors.
The Malaysia-headquartered hospital operator said about 0.5 per cent of its 76,000-strong workforce would “transition out of the organisation” across the three markets. The company did not give a headcount, but the percentage works out to about 380 people. Some other employees will move into redesigned roles.
IHH said clinical services, healthcare professionals and patient-facing teams are not affected.
The company said the change is part of a wider transformation meant to “drive consistency, efficiency and scalability”. Bringing support functions together, it added, would “harmonise processes, unlock synergies across its network and invest resources where they create the greatest impact for patients”.
The move follows IHH’s June 2026 announcement that it was working with Infosys on an AI-powered enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. That system is designed to standardise business processes across the group’s markets, starting with Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
Prem Kumar Nair, group chief executive officer of IHH Healthcare, said the decision was not taken lightly and pointed to a healthcare landscape reshaped by technology and rising patient expectations.
“To continue delivering high-quality patient care for the long term, we must change the way we work and build an organisation that is more resilient, agile and future-ready,” he said.
Severance and outplacement support for affected staff
IHH said departing employees will receive “support beyond local statutory requirements”. That includes enhanced severance packages, immediate access to career transition and outplacement services, and a confidential channel for feedback.
A spokesperson told The Straits Times the exits involve “voluntary separation offers and other employment separations”, in line with practices in each market. The spokesperson declined to give more detail.
Union role in Singapore
In Singapore, the Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU) represents staff at IHH subsidiaries Parkway Hospitals Singapore and Parkway Laboratory Services. Patrick Tay, the union’s secretary-general, said the union had been told about the plans in advance. Affected workers were informed on 4 November 2026.
Tay said the union is working with IHH to make sure severance is in line with the collective agreement. It is also checking that workers are treated in line with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, the national framework that sets out fair retrenchment practice for Singapore employers. Union representatives were on-site to answer workers’ questions.
The union will also connect affected members with the National Trades Union Congress’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), which offers job matching, career coaching and skills advice to Singaporeans and permanent residents.
The cuts come as retrenchments in Singapore rose in the third quarter, and as displaced Singapore workers take longer to re-enter employment.
IHH runs 190 healthcare facilities across 10 countries, 89 of them hospitals. Its Singapore brands include Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles and Parkway.
