Health insurance contractor Healthways Inc. is shutting down its call center operations in Morrisville where it employs about 150 people, with the first wave of layoffs happening Dec. 31.
Franklin, Tenn.-based Healthways (NASDAQ:HWAY) submitted a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter to the North Carolina Department of Commerce on Dec. 7 notifying state authorities about the pending mass layoff.
According to a copy of the WARN letter from Laura Brocklehurst, vice president of human resources for Healthways, the company decided to close the facility “due to changing business circumstances.” Brocklehurst was not available for comment.
Healthways’ Raleigh Well-Being Improvement Center is expected to close by Feb. 28. The office is located at 3131 RDU Center Drive in Morrisville.
Healthways made big news in January 2007 when it committed to expanding its Triangle operations and adding 109 jobs in Cary. The governor’s office granted $40,000 from the OneNC fund, the town of Cary granted $25,000 from its coffers, and Progress Energy agreed to pitch in $15,000 to help match the grant.
But Healthways was never issued any checks from the grant commitments because it never met the grant requirements, which stipulated a minimum investment and a minimum number of jobs be created first.
According to information on Healthways’ web site, the Morrisville call center’s main customer is Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts.