Greenock Telegraph | News | Jobs to go at Cigna

Friday, 9th January, 2009

Published: Tuesday, 2nd December, 2008 12:30

Jobs to go at Cigna

By Russell Steele

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JOB CUTS: Cigna in Greenock.

WORRIED staff at a Greenock-based health insurance firm fear for their livelihoods — after they were told jobs could be axed.

Bosses at CIGNA HealthCare, one of the UK’s leading providers of employee health benefits and services, called workers in for a meeting yesterday morning at their Knowe Road offices and advised them more than 20 jobs faced the chop.

Hundreds of staff are employed at the firm’s Greenock centre, but it is not yet known how many job cuts will occur there.

One worker, who did not want to be named, said: “We were called in this morning and told more than 20 jobs would be going.

“People who are on leave were contacted at home. It was quite a subdued meeting and no real questions were asked at the end.

“A couple of girls were in tears when they left the meeting. We’ve been told we will hear over the next couple of days who will be affected.”

The job fears came to light just days after staff enjoyed a Christmas party bash and it is believed the restructuring was ordered after the firm’s customers were hit by the difficult financial climate.

The anonymous worker claimed: “They have lost quite a lot of business. With big customers like Lehman Brothers closing, a lot of the clients have disappeared, so there has to be a restructuring.”

In a statement today, CIGNA stressed it was in a safe financial position and said no redundancies would be finalised until a consultation with staff was complete.

A spokesperson said: “The changes will mainly affect the UK healthcare part of the company, which employs around 250 people, not just at Greenock.

“We have to look at organisational changes because we are looking to improve the financial performance of the company, which has been affected by market conditions.

“More than 20 roles are potentially affected. As responsible employers, we are letting people know as early as possible.

“We are now going through a consultation process directly with the staff and no redundancies will be confirmed until that consultation process is complete.”

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