by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Despite job cuts in markets including San Antonio, Madison, Wis. and Jacksonville last month, Humana, Inc. is dispelling rumors that the company is experiencing hard times.
“A popular misconception when a company has layoffs,” said Pamela Gadinsky, director of media relations in Florida, “is that there is financial trouble. That’s not the case here.”
Gadinsky stressed that, in fact, Humana’s financial prospects are on the rise. Jobs were eliminated as Humana will reportedly rely more on technology to serve its customers.
“This year, we are going to be introducing new products designed for both smaller and larger groups,” she said, “and we’re very excited about it. We are still aggressively approaching the market in Jacksonville.”
Gadinsky added that Humana will remain a presence in the 23-story building located at 76 S. Laura St. and that the building name will not change.
“Although our customer service center is closing, we will continue to have commercial sales offices based in the building,” she said.
As for the vacant space made available with the closing of the service center — an estimated 450 jobs were cut — Humana is entertaining the idea of possibly leasing it to another tenant or tenants.
“We have a lot of ideas,” Gadinsky said, “but nothing has been decided upon just yet.”