Cigna's Job Cuts: Latest Addition to the Healthcare Layoff Watch

(MoneyWatch)  So Cigna has now joined the roll of health-insurance companies who are busy cutting workers as the economy worsens and rising medical costs take their toll on profits and membership. The insurer, which suffered a big loss in a discontinued death-benefit annuity business, said it will cut its workforce by about four percent, or 1,100 jobs, while taking a charge of $30 million to $40 million.

Cigna, whose health-insurance business is largely focused on administering health plans for employers and governments, isn't saying which jobs it plans to cut. That puts it in good company; for whatever reason, its major rivals have also declined to give many details about the layoffs that are starting to sweep the industry.

To help keep track of cutbacks across the industry, I've inaugurated the BNET Healthcare Layoff Watch, insurance edition. I'll update or repost as necessary, depending on conditions.

Major Health-Insurance Industry Layoffs

• May 22, 2008: WellCare Health Plans lays off 208 people, or about five percent of its workforce, primarily in Florida and New York Medicaid sales offices. WellCare is still under investigation for alleged Medicaid fraud in those two states and elsewhere.
• July 2, 2008: UnitedHealthcare Group EVP David Wichmann says the insurer is reducing employment by roughly 4,000 positions as part of a drive to reduce operating expenses by $500 million. Although Wichmann doesn't go into detail, he says the company overstaffed for growth that never materialized.
• Dec. 17, 2008: Aetna says it will lay off roughly 1,000 employees worldwide, or slightly less than three percent of its headcount. The cuts fell across a "wide range of corporate staff and business units," the Hartford Courant reported.
• Jan. 5, 2009: Cigna says it will eliminate 1,100 jobs, or four percent of its total employment.

I'm aware that some Blues plans have also announced layoffs over the past year or so, but I haven't had a chance to look into that in detail. Feel free to point me toward any useful links in comments, and I'll update when I can.