A cutback in working hours for employees and reduced opening hours for outpatient clinics at American Samoa's LBJ Medical Centre have been postponed.
The Chairman of the Hospital Authority Board, Charles Warren, says changes have to be made to the personnel manual, before the cuts can be implemented.
Mr Warren says 33 jobs will be eliminated at an annual saving of 850 thousand US dollars.
The layoffs will not include recent hirings as they include jobs that deal with patient care including nurses, doctors, Xray technicians, EMT specialists, and six laboratory technicians.
Hospital fees will be raised under a new sliding fee schedule based on income and family size.
Under the plan those at the poverty level will get free health care.
Hospital staff have circulated a petition objecting to the reduction in hours and including suggestions on what the management can do to cut costs.
One staffer says 250,000 dollars would be saved if positions held by family members of some of LBJ's leaders were eliminated.
