The parent company of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois, Chicago-based Health Care Service Corporation, notified employees it plans to lay off 70 percent of its IT infrastructure staff and outsource system maintenance jobs to a foreign country, reports Crain's Chicago Business.
Layoffs could affect about 540 employees who conduct maintenance of IT infrastructure and similar tasks, according to Computerworld.
HCSC declined to confirm the layoffs but said in a statement that "we are modernizing our information technology systems, developing critical skills and capabilities within our IT workforce and building strong collaborative partnerships with our business colleagues."
HCSC offered early buyouts to employees older than 50 on Sept. 6.