MVP lays off another 22, 12 in Schenectady

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

MVP Health Care has laid off 22 more employees just months after announcing 68 company-wide layoffs as part of a restructuring plan to keep its health plans affordable to members.

A dozen of the layoffs occurred at its Schenectady headquarters on State Street. Employees were informed Thursday.

“Because of the seasonal nature of the health insurance business, handling enrollment changes at the beginning of the year, it was necessary to make these workforce adjustments now,” company spokeswoman Robin Wood said in an email. “We have very carefully evaluated our workforce structure so that it is aligned appropriately going forward.”

The news comes on top of two previous rounds of layoffs at the health insurance company. The first round occurred exactly one year ago, when the company cut 48 jobs across various offices in the Northeast, including 22 locally. The second round occurred in January 2013, when 68 employees were let go, including 22 locally. And that was on top of 63 early retirements.

“The health care marketplace is changing rapidly, and MVP must constantly adapt in order to best serve our customers and be competitive in the marketplace,” Wood said. “Because of this constant change, MVP always has to evaluate its strategies, business plans and staffing plans and make changes as required, based on business needs.”

Affected employees were offered severance pay, benefits and outplacement assistance.

Companywide, MVP now has more than 1,500 employees, with about 900 working in Schenectady.