UnitedHealthcare Offers Employees Voluntary Buyouts to Meet 'Evolving Needs' The health insurance giant could resort to layoffs if it doesn't meet resignation quotas with buyouts.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- UnitedHealthcare is offering employees in its benefits operations unit a buyout, a financial incentive if they choose to resign.
- Employees can opt into the buyout by March 3 to leave by May 1 at the earliest.
UnitedHealthcare is offering some of its employees a buyout, or a financial package in exchange for their resignation, if they agree to leave by March 3.
The buyout, called the Voluntary Resignation Separation Program, applies to employees in UnitedHealthcare's benefits operations unit, sources told CNBC on Wednesday. They clarified that anyone who does not accept the offer will keep their current job for the time being or be moved to a comparable role.
The sources also told the outlet that if the company does not meet an unspecified resignation quota, it will lead to layoffs.
"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 in a statement.
UnitedHealthcare did not disclose how many employees received a buyout offer, but an internal memo sent to employees Monday and viewed by CNBC showed that the buyout applied to full-time and part-time workers in four subdivisions under the benefits operations unit: corporate, consumer operations, core services, and provider services.
Per the memo, employees who accept the buyout will leave by May 1 at the earliest and November 13 at the latest. They will receive resignation packages on their termination date, and the amount will vary depending on how many years they have been at the company.
UnitedHealthcare is the health insurance division of UnitedHealth Group, which has more than 440,000 total employees, including 160,000 clinical professionals, as of a December 31, 2023 filing. UnitedHealth Group is the largest healthcare company in the U.S. based on revenue — it brought in over $400 billion in 2024, its highest annual revenue yet. It is also the largest company based on market cap, which stands at about $465 billion at the time of writing.
The company faced a tumultuous end of 2024 after the killing of its CEO, Brian Thompson, in December. Thompson's death has placed the U.S. healthcare system and its rising costs under scrutiny. UnitedHealthcare named a new CEO, Tim Noel, in January.
UnitedHealth Group also faced a cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare in February 2024 that forced it to pay over $3 billion to healthcare providers affected by the breach.
