Farmers Insurance says it will lay off 11% of its workforce – about 2,400 employees – as part of a corporate restructuring aimed at increasing its efficiency and long-term profitability.
August 28, 2023, 4:30 pm ET
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NEW YORK – Farmers Insurance said Monday it will lay off 11% of its workforce — about 2,400 employees — as part of a corporate restructuring aimed at increasing its efficiency and long-term profitability.
The California-based insurer said the job cuts would affect all branches of its business. Farmers confirmed to The Associated Press that Monday was the last working day at the company for most of the employees affected by the layoffs.
In a statement announcing the job cuts, Raul Vargas, president and CEO of Farmers Group Inc., a subsidiary of Swiss giant Zurich Insurance Group, cited the “current conditions” in the insurance industry.
“As our industry continues to face macroeconomic challenges, we must carefully manage risk and prudently align our costs with our strategic plans for sustainable profitability,” Vargas said. Ultimately make farmers more responsive to the needs of our insured customers and agents.”
In recent months, farmers, along with other insurers including Allstate and State Farm, have pulled out of property insurance in states like Florida and California. As these regions become more vulnerable to natural disasters, from hurricanes to wildfires, in the age of climate change, insurers have cited the need to reduce risk exposure and operating costs—but critics have blamed life-loss on the companies. accused of increasing the cost of living. crisis.
Monday’s layoff announcement from Farmers follows massive job cuts at some of the companies last year — including T-Mobile, Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft. In addition to the tech sector, layoffs have also affected Disney park employees, newspapers and some higher education jobs.
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