Hartford health insurer Aetna has informed employees it will cut back on a longstanding practice of allowing telework, offer voluntary early retirement and reduce part of its workforce focused on state healthcare exchanges.
Aetna is in the midst of seeking to acquire Humana, a combination the U.S. Department of Justice is challenging, and has recently indicated it will pull out of Obamacare exchanges in some states. The Hartford Courant first reported Aetna’s workforce changes.
Telework, which allows flexible hours working outside of the office, has been offered at least since 2005, according to a 2013 article by Reuters entitled “In telecommuting debate, Aetna sticks by big at-home workforce.”
In a statement, the company confirmed that in a “constant effort” to reduce operating costs, “reviewing how our resources are deployed” is part of that internal analysis.
Spokesman Matt Clyburn added that despite priding itself on being a leader in the telework world, “Our goal is to figure out how we can work together in the best way. Any changes involve how we can innovate and work toward continued growth.”
It is too early to say whether telework changes will be voluntary, involuntary or some combination of both, he said.
Employees learned of the coming changes in a meeting with CEO Mark Bertolini in late September, a company source confirmed.
Clyburn could not say how many employees will be affected by the telework changes, noting it’s early in the discussion phase.
“[Like] any good business,” Clyburn said, “we’ll look at the size of the workforce, we’ll look at what our employees are focused on and make decisions based on the evolving needs of our company.”
That also applies to potential early retirements and eliminating 800 jobs no longer needed to support participation in state healthcare exchanges, though the company is working to relocate those employees within Aetna, according to media reports and the company source. So far, 400 workers have been reassigned within the company, the source confirmed.
