In a cost-cutting move expected to save $7.4 million annually, MedWest cut 82 positions systemwide Tuesday. Of those, 56 were at MedWest-Haywood, where the annual projected savings were estimated at $3.9 million.

Hospital administrators said the layoffs were made across departments in a way that patient care would remain unaffected.

Cliff Stovall, chairman of the MedWest-Haywood board of directors, said the number of employees who would be let go, as well as which departments would be downsized, were management decisions.

“We didn’t dictate anything other than to take care of the patient with quality care,” Stovall said. The Tuesday layoffs follow several months of incremental downsizing, where vacancies from retirements or resignations were not filled. This resulted in an overall ...