CVS Health starts issuing layoff notices at CT’s Aetna [Hartford Courant]

HARTFORD — Layoff notices at Hartford-based health insurer Aetna are starting to go out to affected corporate employees as parent company CVS Health Corp. moves ahead with plans to cut 5,000 jobs nationwide this year.

Rhode Island-based CVS Health, which is cutting expenses and shifting investments into health care delivery and technology that will drive future growth, confirmed Tuesday that employees, including those in Hartford, are now being told if they are losing their jobs.

CVS declined to say how many workers in Hartford will be part of the job cuts or when the layoffs will become effective.

As of Tuesday morning, the Connecticut Department of Labor had not posted a notice on its website about layoffs at the health insurer. Employers with 100 or more full-time workers are required to report job cuts to the state, but there are specific parameters that can exempt the reports.

When the nationwide job cuts were disclosed by CVS two weeks ago, concerns were raised about the impact on Connecticut, particularly in Hartford’s Asylum Hill where the Aetna has been headquartered since the 1930s.

CVS said Tuesday it would not have comment beyond its statements earlier this month.

At that time CVS said, “We do not expect there to be any impact to our customer-facing colleagues in our stores, pharmacies, clinics or customer services centers. We’re committed to supporting impacted colleagues, and they will receive severance pay and benefits, including access to outplacement services.”

When CVS acquired Aetna in 2018, its agreement with Connecticut insurance regulators included a promise to keep employment at Aetna and its subsidiaries at 5,300 for at least four years. CVS also agreed to keep Aetna’s headquarters in Hartford for a decade and create a center of excellence for CVS’ insurance business.

In Connecticut, CVS now employs 9,220, which includes a chain of more than 170 pharmacies. A current job count for the Aetna headquarters in Hartford has not been disclosed by CVS.

CVS’ workforce is about 300,000 nationwide and the planned job cuts represent about 2% of the company’s overall workforce.

Check back for updates.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.

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