By Howard Packowitz and Maria Henneberry
BLOOMINGTON – Starting next year, State Farm Insurance will close 11 offices in eight states, and transfer operations at those sites to its headquarters here in Bloomington, plus offices in Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, and a number of other existing State Farm locations.
The consolidation, which will be done in phases through 2021 will affect 42-hundred of the nearly 70,000 employees company-wide. State Farm said affected workers will continue to have job opportunities at existing sites, and the company said the announcement coming now gives employees time to make personal and professional decisions.
State Farm spokesman Justin Tomczak can not say for sure how many positions will be eliminated.
“If somebody decides to move? Would somebody retire? Could somebody take another opportunity? It’s impossible really to predict what individually will be taking place,” Tomczak said.
A statement from the company says the decision was based on efforts to “best serve customers by gaining efficiency through streamlining and improving processes, leveraging technology, and concentrating employees in larger locations.”
Two State Farm offices, in Parsippany, New Jersey, and Petaluma, California, will be shut down in 2018. Only one Illinois location, in suburban Downers Grove, is scheduled to be closed, which is expected to happen in 2020.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected] and Maria Henneberry can be reached at [email protected]
