The Genworth campus off West Broad Street near Glenside Drive. (Photo by Michael Schwartz)
One of Richmond’s largest financial firms is cutting 400 positions company-wide, including at least 5 percent of its local workforce.
Genworth Financial said Thursday that between 75 and 100 of its Richmond employees are being laid off as part of a plan that is expected to save $80 million to $90 million a year.
The 400 jobs being eliminated include 150 positions that are open and will not be filled. That means about 250 workers will be laid off.
Genworth spokesman Al Orendorff said the cuts include a variety of positions.
“These eliminations are across the board functionally,” Orendorff said. “We’re reducing expenses so we can achieve more appropriate returns on our products and be more competitive.”
The layoffs will also include 3 to 4 percent of the jobs at the company’s operations in Lynchburg. That amounts to just under 50 workers there, Orendorff said.
Genworth has 1,300 employees at its campus at 6620 W. Broad St. Orendorff said laid-off employees would receive severance. Employees were informed of the cuts Thursday.
The company said it would incur a charge of between $15 million and $20 million in its second quarter for costs related to the layoffs.
“These are very difficult decisions to make, but the changes are essential to our ongoing work to improve the performance of our businesses and deliver value to our shareholders,” president and chief executive Tom McInerney said in a prepared statement.
McInerney took the company’s helm Jan. 1, about six months after longtime chief executive Michael Fraizer abruptly resigned.
Fraizer’s departure came after the company was hit hard by the downturn in the housing market, which battered its mortgage insurance division. It laid off 1,000 workers in late 2008.
The Fortune 500 company over the past two years has sought to sell off pieces of itself. In April, it sold its tax and accounting advisers unit in a $79 million deal. In October 2010, it closed a deal to sell its Medicare supplement business to Aetna for $290 million.
In January 2011, it did away with many of its annuities products, resulting in the elimination of 130 local jobs.
The company has about 5,800 total employees. Its main products are life insurance, mortgage insurance, and long-term care insurance and annuities.
It reported $103 million in profit for the first quarter, an improvement from $46 million in profit in the same period of 2012.
The Genworth campus off West Broad Street near Glenside Drive. (Photo by Michael Schwartz)
One of Richmond’s largest financial firms is cutting 400 positions company-wide, including at least 5 percent of its local workforce.
Genworth Financial said Thursday that between 75 and 100 of its Richmond employees are being laid off as part of a plan that is expected to save $80 million to $90 million a year.
The 400 jobs being eliminated include 150 positions that are open and will not be filled. That means about 250 workers will be laid off.
Genworth spokesman Al Orendorff said the cuts include a variety of positions.
“These eliminations are across the board functionally,” Orendorff said. “We’re reducing expenses so we can achieve more appropriate returns on our products and be more competitive.”
The layoffs will also include 3 to 4 percent of the jobs at the company’s operations in Lynchburg. That amounts to just under 50 workers there, Orendorff said.
Genworth has 1,300 employees at its campus at 6620 W. Broad St. Orendorff said laid-off employees would receive severance. Employees were informed of the cuts Thursday.
The company said it would incur a charge of between $15 million and $20 million in its second quarter for costs related to the layoffs.
“These are very difficult decisions to make, but the changes are essential to our ongoing work to improve the performance of our businesses and deliver value to our shareholders,” president and chief executive Tom McInerney said in a prepared statement.
McInerney took the company’s helm Jan. 1, about six months after longtime chief executive Michael Fraizer abruptly resigned.
Fraizer’s departure came after the company was hit hard by the downturn in the housing market, which battered its mortgage insurance division. It laid off 1,000 workers in late 2008.
The Fortune 500 company over the past two years has sought to sell off pieces of itself. In April, it sold its tax and accounting advisers unit in a $79 million deal. In October 2010, it closed a deal to sell its Medicare supplement business to Aetna for $290 million.
In January 2011, it did away with many of its annuities products, resulting in the elimination of 130 local jobs.
The company has about 5,800 total employees. Its main products are life insurance, mortgage insurance, and long-term care insurance and annuities.
It reported $103 million in profit for the first quarter, an improvement from $46 million in profit in the same period of 2012.