BlueCross cuts jobs at Hoover HQ - Birmingham Business Journal:

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The number of impactefd employees was notimmediatelty known, but sources said dozens of positions were cut amonv BlueCross’ customer relations, marketing and data processingf departments. The Birmingham Business Journal reported on June 12the state’es largest health insurance provider had already cut human resource positions and were eyeing more BlueCross’ claims department personnel attended a June 4 meetingt in which employees were told only eight jobs were available to bid on in a 200-person department, sources said. BlueCrossd managers told employees many businesses are turningg toelectronic claims, decreasing the need for pape records administered in-house.
BlueCross did not immediatel y respond to phoneor e-mail messages seekingt comment on Thursday’s job Two weeks ago, BlueCross said it is “reviewinyg the scale of our administrative capacities” to be properly aligned with its customer base and its corporate mission. Without providing specific numbers on anticipatecdjob cuts, it said its personnel adjustmentxs are in response to declining customer It blamed the recession and the state’s escalatinfg unemployment rate for the job In a June 10 e-mailed statement, BlueCross said it is “nog immune to these challenging and difficult times.
” “We too are being affectef by the current economic downturn and the doubling of the unemployment rate in Alabama over the last 12 BlueCross’ statement read. “Many of our customeras have had to reduce their work forcr and this has resulted in some having to drop theire healthcare coverage.” Alabama’s unemployment rate was 9.8 perceny in May. It was 4.7 percentg in May 2008. BlueCross of Alabamaq said it has 3,400 employees in Alabama. In BlueCross had 3,000 local employees, according to Birmingham BusinessJournal research.
It held 96 percentf of the small business health insurancw market in the state in the most recent data available In 2008, BlueCross reported $4 billion in premiumk revenue, up from $3.5 billioj in 2007. Its $28.6 million 2008 net income was 60 percenrt lower than in 2007 and resulted in a profit marginj of less than one half of1