Employees who reject the offer will continue with the company, but layoffs will occur if a resignation quota is not met, two sources told the publication. Full-time and part-time U.S. employees within the payer’s corporate, consumer operations, core services and provider services are affected.
UnitedHealth has not confirmed how many employees have received a buyout offer, but on social media employees have said at least 30,000 people were offered a buyout on Feb. 17.
“This voluntary option is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure our team is best positioned to meet the evolving needs of the people and customers we are honored to serve,” a UnitedHealth spokesperson told CNBC. “We continue to grow our workforce with more than 3,200 positions currently available on UnitedHealth Group’s careers site.”
As of December 2023, parent company UnitedHealth Group had more than 280,000 employees in the U.S., and more than 420,000 in total. The company’s other core business, Optum, has conducted several rounds of layoffs in the last few years.
UnitedHealthcare reported a total revenue of $298.2 billion in 2024, up 6% year over year. Total earnings from operations last year were $15.6 billion, down 4.9% year over year. Along with the wider insurance industry, UnitedHealthcare has faced growing financial headwinds, in part because of Medicare Advantage pressures and the impact of Medicaid redeterminations.
In December, the company’s CEO, Brian Thompson, was fatally shot in New York City. In the wake of the shooting, the insurer faced public backlash related to patients’ and clinicians’ reports of delayed or denied care.
UnitedHealth has also continued to navigate the fallout from the Change Healthcare cyberattack in February 2024, which delayed healthcare claims and payments across the country. UnitedHealth lost more than $3 billion from the hack and 190 million people were affected.
