Creating this thread to capture comments about the acquisition of Wellcare by Centene.
Wellcare appears to be taking actions already that are related to direction from Centene with staffing changes, layoffs/RIFs, etcetera.
Anyone know what’s up with the review cycle? HR has been very, very quiet.
Seems wellcare filed 425 to give executives share vesting in december instead of march..not sure if this is indication of closing books and bonuses to be paid this year for all or just their compensation..
Management of Wellcare Technolocal support rely needs a clean up. Worse support unit I have seen in a long time and the government pays for it. Makes since.
It goes without saying but just as a reminder - don’t browse this site from any work device (laptop, cellphone). Don’t do it with any device connected to a Centene or WellCare managed network. You never know who’s watching.
Keep in mind that the messaging is never...ever going to be negative. They want you gone when and where it favors the business and on their terms - not yours.
In IT we're getting the message that teams may change, but no big shakeups. True integration may be 3-5 years down the road.
In response to 1year promise post.There are few people(dont know criteria) who receieved retention package offers provided they stay 6months after closing. That's indirect promise of 6months. Apart from that we arent aware of any other specific promises. There are high level meetings going on, in coming weeks as centene wants to close by 1/1.
Nobody has been told that their job is safe.
Out of curiosity, speaking as an employee of the company that was acquired last year by Centene, did you at WellCare receive the promise that, "your job is safe for 1 year"? We did, and it held true as far as everyone can tell, but after that, all bets were off. So if you did get that message from your leadership, it's probably believable. But when they keep stampeding through the country and acquire the next big thing after you, you will be in the position that we are in now. I wish you all luck!
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payer/centene-s-wellcare-acquisition-moves-forward-state-approvals
In response to a comment down below that Centene it was being pushed out the door to make room for Fidelis and WellCare, not true. Fidelis was also hit with the layoffs last month. So yes, I agree that they are likely making room for WellCare, but it wasn't just Centene personnel that was affected by it.
Executives had a meeting with Centene today. Anyone know if there was an update
Looks like all states have approved. Centene is divesting part of its business in Illinois to CVS per the news yesterday.
In October they said they had 24 state approvals and 2 were still pending (New Jersey and Illinois). The latest public docs as of 12/2 show they now have 26 state approvals.
The final gov’t approval for the CVS deal in Illinois seems to be the last hurdle. As long as there are no antitrust concerns, it’s a go.
some says no budget for next year and many apps will be gone as new company don't want them, on other hand some says nothing will change in next couple of years as combined company explore the options of integration. immediate management says business as usual and deal not going to be closed any time soon still on target for first half of 2020.
management sharing the information they know only to their close connections and keeping everyone else in limbo. Don't believe any one, no one's job is safe unless you hear directly from top or you have very close relation with management(probability of those get precedence over real talented people is more).if you are open to face layoff just stay and do your job take the package if that happen else business as usual. If you are worrying/stressed out about the situation update your resume and start looking before its too late.
Many VPs are quietly interviewing for a spot in St Louis. Don’t expect any loyalty or favors. This is a business deal.
Motivation is at a significant low for many teams. Managers continue to try to keep people upbeat and say the right things, but it’s just noise. They’re being coached by their leaders to try to keep people engaged. Those leaders are being coached by their own higher leaders to say everything will be ok and everyone has a job when all is said and done. Be careful who you trust.
Not sure I agree with the whole “only people who got exceeds will transition to Centene” comment below. WellCare HR always pushed to limit reviews that were frequently/consistently exceeds. It was never really I’m writing but if you had to write reviews, it was known.
I came over when Today's Options - Universal American was bought out by WellCare. I am currently in the Provider Operations space and have very little confidence that my job will be saved due to it being a new role that was added early in 2019. That being said I have knowledge that a Director from one of the New York offices was told by his direct report, and told him who on his team to give exceeds for their year-end review. Not that my meets was a bad thing, it will be if only associates with an exceeds transition over to Centene. Being a former Today's Options - Universal American is concerning as WellCare upper management will do everything in their power to protect "WellCare Associates". I am not waiting to be laid off and I encourage any WellCare or Centene associates to start looking for another job now. 65% of ALL WellCare associates received a meets this year. So from a business perspective this makes sense. Also our year-end reviews were fast tracked and completed on November 20, 2019. Also, last month I was told by my people leader that Centene does not allow work from home, which is concerning since I currently WFH. I am not interested at all to go back into an office setting at this stage of the game. Just another way of say goodbye to TOP TALENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right now if you have a job please go to work and do your job to the best of your ability. If a layoff is coming then cross that bridge when it happens. Until then don't worry yourself to death. Embrace today and embrace tomorrow tomorrow. God bless
Who stays and who goes has been determined throughout most of the company. By design the payouts are to be within a short time after the deal closes. However, if you’re part of a layoff during that period, you get no bonus. But they keep you hanging on for as long as possible hook g to get paid. Sneaky.
As per earlier communications we should receive frequent updates regarding integration efforts but no news at all..some says deal will be closing by end of December, some says not till march..its better if management can come forward with some transparency on whats going on rather than leaving to all rumors..management says nothing to worry business as usual at-least next couple of years which is highly doubtful. if its true then no one can save new company, all the mess from here dominate new company again.
People are exhausted and worried all at the same time. Mgmt isn’t making it any better by keeping quiet. All the talking points are positive but do nothing to help the average employee. Lots of stress and water cooler talk about people wanting a severance check just to get off of this train.
The post below this paragraph was previously here with 5 in support - somehow it disappeared from the site. I would also like to add that the manager of Lead Gen Marketing in Tampa is more than friends with one of her employees. She is too busy with this employee, a senior member of the team and another female, to be a professional authority figure to the rest of the team. I'm sick of witnessing it. It's wrong and it breaches employee law. Why is this allowed???
Let's hope they get rid of the Lead Gen team in Tampa. They are useless and always passing the buck onto other teams, finagling excuses for why nothing gets done. Deadlines are never met and our team is stuck because of it. The manager treated my friend like sh** for being a responsible employee and taking the initiative for wanting to do her job. Hopefully the acquisition will take care of the employees who have been here for years and simply exist to get a paycheck while ignoring and penalizing new hires for their talent and experience.
They are not paying out because they are still determining who is staying and who is gone.
Bonus/merit info for WellCare Associates must be locked down by 12/19. Likely payout in January.
A business analyst manager at Wellcare just got let go. Not sure how many others in the BSA realm.
wow, I wish I had read this two months ago....I was just laid off from Centene IT this week, along with many from my team. STL IT got hit pretty bad. All that knowledge out the door.
Now it all makes sense, clearing the ranks for Fidelis and WellCare people to take our jobs. Good luck learning our systems, since they are different and complicated than either of those places.
Centene started reaching out asking mgrs at WCG who their top and bottom players are within their teams. This was a surprise, so this may be an indication that the deal is much closer to being announced as “done”.
Word out of St. Louis is that Centene acquisitions typically get targeted with a 15% across the board staff reduction within year #1.
CIO left last week. Does any one has any info on whether the deal still going to close by end of the Dec or not? Definitely this place needs cleanup in IT as mentioned in previous posts(mainly managers and leads who don't have clue about technology except spending time with other members/having relationships, bringing people they know and their partners)
I agree with the comment in this thread about Lead Gen Marketing. They didn't make it easy on us with AEP materials. All in all, they made it an exhausting process. Everything was a scramble, lots of due dates missed and mistakes. Their compliance person had been with WellCare for many years. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of materials went out with compliance issues...
hearing that the deal inked with st louis required bonuses to be paid out one last time. also within year 1 they can't change your salary. that money could be used for bonus, severance, or retention but centene doesn't want it on their books after the companies combine.
it seems the deal may close a lot earlier than the messaging the two companies are publicly putting out there. december is the latest guess (from people at Centene) with a rumor that additional RIFs might start again in november. possibly IT and Ops this next time. this all seems to parallel the review cycle. keep ya heads down and ears open, people!
Probably wrapping everything up for Centene. It makes sense that if they cut headcount now (those who have been with the company for a while, overpaid managers, etc.), before the acquisition Centene will come out even further in the deal. Layoffs now and whatever bonuses (if any) gets Centene ready by Q1 '20. Logically an excellent time to "clean house."
Timing is weird. Our manager explained that they didn’t want the merger to interfere with our bonuses and dollars allocated for increases so they’re doing prior to merger to make sure our annuals isn’t affected by merger.
why would they change the review cycle to end in 2019 when it always ended in Q1 of the next year?
bonuses and merit increases stayed on the same cycle as always. I wonder if they intend to use bonus money for severance or retention payments ...?
I worked for Wellcare for 5 years and had never been written up. I had always exceeded, in fact. I had a work-from-home position, which I was told by my supervisor could be in danger after the merge. Well last month, I was fired unexpectedly, supposedly because my case notes and call logs didnt match up. I was told that if I couldnt prove that I made the calls, I would be fired. I had no way of proving it, so I was let go on the spot....no write-up, no warning, not even anything in writing saying what I did wrong. I think it all had to do with the merge and them wanting to eliminate positions.