Nationwide cutting 1,100 jobs in Columbus, across the country
November 22, 2018 by Tristan Navera
A massive restructuring at Nationwide will reduce its workforce by 1,100 people, including cutting hundreds of jobs in Columbus.
The Columbus-based insurance and financial services giant is telling 430 people today that their jobs will be eliminated – 350 in Columbus and 80 in Des Moines – with more to come in the next few weeks.
Departments facing layoffs include IT, marketing, property and casualty operations and bank organizations. In all, the layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2019.
“We are making these changes from a position of strength and stability to position the organization for long-term success and growth,” Nationwide spokesman Joe Case said in an email, adding, “As the company implements new technologies and modernizes for the future, its workforce requirements are changing.”
The company has about 770 open jobs, including 320 in Columbus. Officials are encouraging employees facing layoffs to apply for those jobs. Eligible employees also will receive up to 60 days pre-notice, a 60-day formal notice, a severance package and outplacement services.
“When we started our transformational journey, some seven years ago, we anticipated we would begin to realize the benefits in 2019,” Case said. “Our digital modernization, our distribution evolution and the formation of emerging partnerships all position us to meet customers where they are.
“As we implement new technologies and become more efficient across our businesses, our work force requirements are changing.”
Nationwide is the largest private company in Columbus, with revenue of $46.5 billion last year. It has 13,570 employees in Central Ohio, among an overall workforce of 33,000.
The Fortune 100 company has undertaken a number of restructuring moves this year, many aimed at cutting overhead.
It is closing its Canton office next year and cutting 175 jobs there in the final move of a years-long effort to streamline its subsidies under a singular brand. That has meant a reduction of about 740 jobs in three sites since 2015, including underwriting and call center jobs.
The company also announced in the spring a shift in how its insurance is sold, moving about 2,000 captive agents to an independent agent model by July 2020, part of an industrywide trend. About 10,000 independent agents already sell its insurance products.
In Columbus, the company has been pulling back employees from leased spaceto its new offices in Grandview Yard, closer to One Nationwide Plaza. About 3,600 employees now work in Grandview Yard.
In a recent interview, Nationwide’s Chief Administrative Officer Gale King said the company has been shifting its workforce and planning for the kind of company it must become in the coming years – one that emphasizes more technology, teamwork and adaptability.
“All you have to do is look at what’s happening in the external world, what’s impacting us, and clearly technology is huge in that,” King said.