AM I NEXT? IS THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL AT ELEVANCE/ANTHEM? (10/19/24)

Am I Next? Major changes at Anthem.

OCTOBER 19, 2024 — CONTINUING QUIET LAYOFFS

Periodic, unpublicized layoffs continue to occur company-wide, including 59 employees in Woodland Hills, California, and 64 in Cerritos, California.

To help avoid confusion, Elevance is Anthem Blue Cross in California and not Blue Shield of California.

JUNE 28, 2022 — NAME CHANGE TO ELEVANCE

Anthem announced that it is changing its name to Elevance Health and will revive the Wellpoint name in some markets. The name change will become official on June 28, 2022, and the company's ticker symbol will be ELV.

The change will help the company consolidate its various brand identities to reduce consumer confusion.

MAY 22, 2019 — Original post…

Indianapolis, Indiana-based Anthem, Inc., the healthcare benefits company and parent of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, has acknowledged that they have laid off more than 166 IT employees.

It also appears that the company is restructuring. In Woodland Hills, California, the company is moving from its Warner Center 450,000 square-foot building to one that is estimated to be 169,000 square-feet. The company intends to sell its remaining adjacent 26-acre property.

The company also has announced plans to move up to 3,000 IT employees into a 21-story Anthem Technology Center facility currently under construction in Atlanta, Georgia and expected to open in 2021. It is unknown if Anthem’s headquarters will remain in Indianapolis.

Look for layoffs to be phased and if you are unwilling to move to Georgia, you may want to start looking for alternative employment.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT NESTLE (01/29/24)

Am I Next? 4000 Jobs at risk at Nestle USA

JANUARY 29, 2024 — 200 EMPLOYEES IN SOLON, OHIO

The company announced a layoff of 216 employees in May 2024 as per an ongoing efficiency and optimization plan.

According to a company spokesperson, “We are committed to doing all we can to support our people during this change, such as developing comprehensive separation packages to ease employees’ career transitions and collaborating with state and local officials to provide additional resources and support. Impacted employees will also be able to apply for open roles at other Nestle manufacturing facilities, including those in Ohio.”

MAY 2, 2023 — 2 PENNSYLVANIA PLANTS TO BE CLOSED WITH 312 LAYOFFS

Nestlé Health Science, a division of Nestlé, has announced that they will be closing two Pennsylvania facilities and laying off 312 employees.

According to a company spokesperson, "At Nestlé Health Science, we seek to consistently deliver for our patient’s and consumers' needs. This includes evolving our manufacturing footprint to fuel future business growth and investment, Following a strategic review, we have made the difficult decision to close our packaging and manufacturing facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."

APRIL 23, 2022 — CAT LITTER PLANT IN SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI CLOSING

According to a company statement, “Nestlé Purina PetCare announced its decision to exit the paper litter business by discontinuing the Yesterday’s News and Secondnature litter brands and immediately ceasing production at its Springfield, Missouri, paper-based litter factory. Demand for these alternative paper litter brands has diminished over the past few years. At the same time, the supply of paper used to make these products has declined as the world has become more digital. These business conditions have led to this difficult business decision.

This decision will impact 40 employees at the Springfield factory. The transition is scheduled to be completed by June 10, 2022, when the factory will be put on the market to be sold.”

MARCH 13, 2022 — 104 EMPLOYEES IN MOSS LANDING, CALIFORNIA

Nestlé has announced that it is closing its Sweet Earth Foods plant-based meat facility in Moss Landing, California, which will impact 104 employees with layoffs effective May 6, 2022. Some operations will be transferred to the company’s Solon, Ohio, facility.

According to a company spokesperson, “This move will help optimize production and utilization across our meals manufacturing network, as well as streamline delivery to our customers.”

Sweet Earth Foods is a manufacturer of plant-based beef, chicken, deli slices, hot dogs, and other offerings which are being received with great skepticism by non-vegan consumers.

JANUARY 26, 2022 — 138 IT EMPLOYEES IN SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI

As part of a “reorganization” of its North American operations, the company has announced its intent to reduce its information technology workforce in St. Louis, Missouri by 138 or more employees. Changes to the organization will occur between March 18, 2022, and May 2024.

MAY 20, 2021 — ADDITIONAL LAYOFFS IN BURLINGTON, WISCONSIN

The company has announced that it will lay off 34 employees at its facility in Burlington, Wisconsin, commencing on July 23, 2021.

The decision was driven by the company’s sale of its U.S. confections business to Italy-based Ferrero in April 2018.

A company spokesperson noted, “We are winding down our post-sale production support commitments and are working with all parties involved to support the affected employees.

MARCH 20, 2020 — PARTIAL FACILITY CLOSURE AND LAYOFFS IN BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA

The company has announced that it is continuing with its reorganization plans to lay off 50 employees and partially close its Bakersfield, California research-and-development facility The decision appears to be driven by the company's announcement it will sell its U.S. ice cream operations to Froneri, a joint venture between Nestle and European private equity firm PAI Partners for an estimated $4 billion.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019 — LAYOFFS IN LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA, KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, KENT, WASHINGTON

The company is continuing the changeover in its distribution model with the closure of its cold-products delivery distribution center in Lawrenceville, Georgia where 111 employees will be laid off.

85 employees will be laid off at the cold food distribution center in Kansas City, Kansas which distributes ice cream and frozen pizza.

67 Employees will be laid off at the cold food distribution center in Kent, Washington.

A company spokesperson confirms that 4,000 employees will be impacted by the changeover from the direct-store-delivery model.

AUGUST 20, 2019 — LAYOFFS IN WESTON, FLORIDA

The company has announced the closing of its ice cream distribution operation in Weston, Florida, and laying off 67 workers between October 18, 2019, and December 31, 2019, when the operation will be permanently closed.

The decision to close the operation is part of a consolidation effort to “simplify the route to market” for ice cream products by using the company’s existing cold-storage facilities it already used for other frozen products.

MAY 9, 2019 — Original Post…

Arlington, Virginia-based Nestle USA, the subsidiary of Nestlé S.A., the iconic global nutrition, health and wellness company, has announced another step in its restructuring program.

In this phase, approximately 4,000 employees are at risk from being laid off as the company transforms their product distribution network for its ice cream and pizza operations from its company-owned frozen Direct-Store-Delivery (DSD) network to a warehouse distribution model that is currently used for its frozen meals and snacks distribution. The phased transition will start in October 2019 and completed by April 2020.

According to Steve Presley, the Chairman and CEO of Nestle USA, “This decision came after careful consideration and, while critical to achieve our business goals, it will impact employees in our sales and supply chain teams, and will result in the closure of eight company-owned frozen distribution centers and our frozen inventory transfer points. These employees have worked incredibly hard to serve our customers. Treating them with respect through this process is a top priority for us, and we are committed to doing all we can to provide them information, resources and support.”

Presley further noted, “As we continue to focus on driving long-term profitable growth, leveraging a simpler route to market unlocks resources we can use to fuel our efforts in demand generation, such as product innovation and brand building. Moving to a warehouse model has numerous benefits for us and our retail customers. By taking advantage of the unmatched breadth and depth of our existing frozen warehouse network, our retail customer partners can better leverage their existing networks. This change is a win-win for Nestlé and our customers.”

Look for additional layoffs as Nestle continues to restructure and consolidate its operations.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE -- LAYOFFS AT TRANSAMERICA (06/22/22)

Am I Next? Transamerica closing down Employee Benefits operation in Little Rock, Arkansas.

AUGUST 18, 2022 — 59 LAYOFFS IN CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA

Transamerica parent company Aegon will eliminate 55 workers by December 31, 2022, as the company partners with a third party to run their IT help desk. Transamerica will lay off 4 workers in an unrelated event.

JUNE 22, 2022 — 40 MORE LAYOFFS IN CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA

Transamerica has announced that it is laying off 40 employees, including 38 remote workers reporting to the Cedar Rapids unit, and scheduled for August 15th, 2022.

According to a company spokesperson, “After carefully assessing its business needs, Transamerica has made the difficult determination to eliminate 40 positions in the state of Iowa. This will enable Transamerica to be more efficient and competitive in delivering its solutions to customers and their financial professionals. These eliminations are not associated with previous decisions to engage Tata Consultancy Services. The majority of these job eliminations are in technology functions. To help ensure that Transamerica has the flexibility to scale its work based on evolving customer needs, Transamerica will transition certain technology functions to suppliers that have U.S. operations.“

DECEMBER 9, 2020 — 53 LAYOFFS IN CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA

The layoffs were reported to the State of Iowa as part of the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and the company refused to provide further details. Speculation is that this is a continuation of the previous layoffs associated with transitioning operations to India as part of the Tata Consultancy Services effort to manage operations.

DECEMBER 6, 2019 — TRANSAMERICA BEGINS SHIFT TO INDIA AND TCS RAMPS UP ITS AMERICAN PRESENCE TO CAPTURE INSURANCE BUSINESS SIMILAR TO THAT OF TRANSAMERICA.

The company announced that there will be approximately 40 layoffs in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area as the company continues to transition operations to India.

820 employees were absorbed into TCS when the company signed a $2 billion deal for Tata Consultancy Services to manage the company’s life and annuities business and service its policy operations. These employees will work in Cedar Rapids or at homeas TCS commits to keeping a Cedar Rapids presence as its third-party administrator insurance hub.

If history is any guide, the handwriting is on the wall as TCS may decide in the future to replace American workers with cheaper Indian labor, possibly using H1-B visas to import personnel, after being trained by their American counterparts.

According to a TCS spokesperson, “A primary goal for TCS is to acquire new third-party administrator business clients and replicate for them what we have successfully done with Transamerica.” Much of the cost savings often involves replacing skilled labor with Indian personnel.

MAY 6, 2019 — Original post…

Baltimore, Maryland-based Transamerica Corporation, the holding company for various insurance and investment companies, has decided to end operations at the company’s Employee Benefits Group located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The closure will result in 110 employee layoffs.

According to a company spokesperson, “Transamerica continually assesses its location strategy to ensure alignment with our business requirements and financial objectives. We have determined that Little Rock is no longer a long-term strategic location for our operations and we will close our office there at the end of 2019. We are keenly aware of the impact these actions will have on our employees and their families. For this reason, we will be offering separation benefits to eligible employees, including outplacement services. The Employee Benefits business line will continue to be “an integral part of our strategy, and we are continuing to grow this market with talent in other U.S. locations.”

Transamerica is in the process of further digitization of its various businesses and product line using the expertise of Mumbai, India-based Tata Consultancy Services. By increasing self-service operations for its policyholders and those seeking to purchase insurance, one can expect further employee layoffs as “modernization” proceeds.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere ... are you now wondering, Am I Next?