UnitedHealth Group’s insurance business is offering certain employees the option to accept buyouts if they agree to resign in the coming days, CNBC reported Wednesday.
The healthcare conglomerate is making a voluntary program available to some full- and part-time employees in UnitedHealthcare’s benefits operations division who sumbit their resignation by March 3, according to the report. Eligible employees include people working in corporate, consumer operations, core services and provider services units, CNBC reported, citing an internal memo.
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“This voluntary option is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure our team is best positioned to meet the evolving needs of the people and customers we are honored to serve. We continue to grow our workforce and hire talent based on the needs of our business,” a UnitedHealth spokesperson said in a statement.
Severance for employees who accept buyouts will be based on their tenure with the company, the spokesperson said. The company declined to say how many people are eligible to participate in the program.
If enough employees don't sign up for the buyouts, the company is reportedly expected to lay off staff. UnitedHealth Group did not provide details on a target number for buyouts or layoff plans.
Employees that take the buyout would leave the company starting in May, but some employees could continue working until November, according to CNBC.
UnitedHealth Group, which has about 400,000 employees overall, had a challenging year navigating the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the public frustration that followed, as well as higher medical costs, pressure on its pharmacy benefit manager, and the catastrophic cyberattack on its Change Healthcare technology company.
Still, the healthcare giant reported a record high annual revenue. Last year, UnitedHealth Group's net earnings dropped 34.1% to $15.2 billion as revenues rose 7.7% to $400.3 billion. UnitedHealthcare wrapped last year with nearly 50.7 million health insurance customers.
