Projo Biz Blog

MetLife Inc., one of the state's major employers, said today it plans to reduce its workforce across the country and will lay off an unspecified number of workers in Rhode Island.

The New York-based insurance and financial services company currently employs 2,100 in Rhode Island. A spokesman for the company declined to say how many jobs will be cut.

"The number of employees losing their jobs is not a significant number for the company in terms of the U.S. workforce," said John Calagna, a New York-based spokesman for the company.

"We will remain a significant employer in the state," Calagna said.
The company is notifying affected employees this week and into next week about the job reductions, he said.

The layoffs are meant to make the company's operations "effective and efficient," he said.

Calagna said that the layoffs will affect some of the workers at the company's operations in Warwick and West Warwick.

The affected employees will retain their jobs until the end of the year, he said. MetLife is providing outplacement assistance, help finding a new job and severance packages, Calagna said.

Laura Hart, a spokesman for the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, said yesterday that the state had not yet discussed the layoffs with MetLife.
She said she had no information about how many jobs would be affected.

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