Blue Shield of California is conducting a third round of layoffs this year, with 150 more employees being laid off in December.
The nonprofit insurer laid off 138 employees in September and 113 employees in May.
The majority of the latest layoffs affect employees in Oakland, El Dorado, and Long Beach, with the remaining cuts taking place in Woodland Hills, Rancho Cordova, San Diego, Lodi and Redding, according to regulatory documents filed with the state on Oct. 13.
“With members at the center of everything we do, ensuring we have the right roles, talent, skills, and capabilities in place to deliver on our mission is critical,” a spokesperson for Blue Shield told Becker’s. “At times, this means making the difficult decision to reduce our staff, which in this instance impacted less than 2% of our workforce. We are supporting those impacted in multiple ways, including through a program that allows them to stay on the job for up to 90 days. During this time, they’re encouraged to apply for internal jobs, are offered skills training activities with the support of a certified professional coach and receive additional severance benefits.”
