Business in the Burbs

WellPoint to eliminate 1,500 jobs in 26 states, including New York

January

Health insurer WellPoint Inc. said it will eliminate 1,500 jobs in New York and 25 other states as it copes with a slow economy.

The Indianapolis-based company, the parent of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, the largest health insurer in New York, said that it anticipates taking a $24 million charge in the fourth quarter to cover the costs of the restructuring. Cheryl Leamon, a company spokeswoman said the company was not releasing specifics on the number of cuts in each state.

WellPoint said the restucturing will involve the elimination of more than 900 open positions and the layoff of 600 additional workers who are elibible for severance pay and outplacement assistance. The cuts represent about 2 percent of the company’s workforce of 42,000 employees.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 3:15 pm by Jay Loomis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Category: Layoffs

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