GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. -- One Mid-Michigan hospital is moving forward with plans to lay off 54 people -- more than half of the licensed practical nurses on staff -- and replace them with nursing assistants.

Genesys Regional Medical Center said it will pink-slip 54 LPN's next week, unless their union can win them a last minute reprieve.

Nina Bugbee, with teamsters Local 332, said the battle between Genesys and Local 332 is a headache that won’t seem to go away.

"The same treatment of employees -- claiming that it's the economic climate -- replacing LPNs at a lower cost is what their objective is," said Bugbee.

Last year, Genesys let go of numerous clinical engineers and had to pay up. "Genesys settled with the clinical engineers, trying to push it under the rug and make it go away," said Bugbee.

While Genesys says the jobs of registered nurses or RNs are not on the table, the Teamsters say they are, with cuts in hours and moving nurses to other departments.

Bugbee said it’s a move that could save money, but change the quality of health care. "I believe this will decrease the quality of care,” said Bugbee. “[The] community has a vested interest in what’s happening here."

The union has also put up a billboard off of Interstate 75 illustrating their frustration.

The vice president of human resources at Genesys released this statement Thursday regarding the issue:

“As we continue to address our area's increasingly challenging economic times, Genesys has asked the union to explore options to maintain overall viability, while trying to do everything possible to reduce the impact to our employees.”

The timeline for an agreement between the union and hospital officials is unknown at this point.