The insurer released a statement confirming that hundreds of employees will be laid off this year.
Despite the fact that the current market is very positive for insurance company jobs, hundreds of employees at Northwest Mutual will be laid off before the end of 2017.
These layoffs will be on top of others that have already been issued to many of the insurer’s workers.
The Northwestern Mutual layoffs are occurring primarily at the company’s corporate offices. Those offices are located in Milwaukee. The insurance provider has stated that the layoffs are occurring as a result of a “transformation” within Northwest Mutual. It is meant to place a concentrate more on technology-related skills among staff members.
A statement from the company said that the insurer plans to lay off “hundreds” of people throughout this year. That said, it has not yet publicly released the precise number of positions that will be removed.
This announcement follows on the heels of last year’s thousands of eliminated insurance company jobs.
In 2016, Northwestern Mutual kept about 5,900 people in its employ at its suburban and downtown Franklin campuses. The company claims to be going through a time of change and evolution which is requiring certain old positions to be removed and new ones to be created so the insurance company won’t be left behind by the competition.
“I think it’s important to remember that what’s happening here at Northwestern Mutual is a process,” said Betsy Hoylman, a spokesperson for the insurer. “Evaluations take place based on business needs, decisions are made. Then we have conversations with the impacted employees.”
According to Holyman, the positions Northwestern Mutual is eliminating are within a number of different departments at both the urban and suburban campus. She also stated that several of the affected employees chose March 31 as their last day, ending their employment with the close of the month.
That said, the lost insurance company jobs are continuing to occur. This is not something that will be happening all at once but will instead be a gradual occurrence over time throughout the year. The insurance industry remains an area of growth and it is certainly hoped that many of the people who will no longer be employed at Northwestern Mutual will be able to find insurance jobs with other local companies.
