Mountlake Terrace, Washington-based Premera Blue Cross, a health insurer licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield, has announced a major reduction in force that will impact 285 employees in the company's Puget Sound area. The employees are said to be support personnel in non-customer-facing positions.
A company spokesperson noted, "While Premera remains strong financially, we recognize the tremendous toll the global pandemic has taken on the economy and many of our group and individual customers."
“Unfortunately, the global pandemic and the subsequent impact to the economy has forced us to move beyond our normal efficiency and cost-saving efforts to eliminate approximately 285 non-customer-facing positions out of 3,442 employees. That figure represents a cut of about 8.3%."
“Now, more than ever, affordability is the number one barrier to receiving high quality care, and we must do all that we can to reduce our costs and pass those savings on to our customers.”
"I cannot share specific positions as all impacted employees have not yet been notified. Positions range across the company in the Puget Sound region, 236 positions will be eliminated.
Premera is a subsidiary of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?