Thread regarding Cigna layoffs

The person who asked the question expressed the following: He is in a group being outsourced to the vendor First Source. They were given offers by First Source to work for them in their current jobs but as First Source employees. He pointed out that Cordani just said that 2,500 new people were hired and that his group felt betrayed they would do that while getting rid of them.

The town halls are the most scripted and cheesy things I have ever listened too. They blow smoke up everyone’s rear end and the crowd applauds like a bunch of puppets.

Post from TheLayoff.com
You can have the door catch you on entry, but can also get the activity from your computer at the ISP. There are queries to do this. Do not need to badge out.

I agree we should have empathy for people, but honestly I had no clue what that guy was talking about when he asked that question. I talked to 5 other people after the town hall and none of them did either. I get that he was nervous, but that’s even more reason to write your question out in advance to make sure your point is clear and you give context. It was a good opportunity to let other employees know about a bad situation that the vast majority have no clue about. I only understood it somewhat after reading posts on this page.

I agree that it was terrible that none of the execs could even respond to it. And yes the Town Halls are always just a stream of corporate buzzwords and feel-good, but meaningless, messages. There are almost never direct answers to any of the questions.

Based on my experience, I will say the questions aren’t pre-screened, as someone claimed below. I’ve asked a question at a Town Hall and the operator didn’t ask me what my question was beforehand. They just put me right through after asking my name. Although that might change now…

“Micro aggressions” “Neurodivergent”

Get out of here with this progressive garbage.

Can we not have empathy for a person who was likely nervous and frustrated by their situation? I’d take someone showing their humanity and emotion over an eloquent speech full of non-answers.

I could not agree more with this! More than half of us are terrified to ask a question like that during these Town Halls. It was very brave of this person to do so.

Exactly right. I’m not sure why someone felt the need to point out that the question was worded poorly. That’s not what I noticed about the exchange, nor what I would think is important.

What we should be focusing on regarding that exchange is the embarrassing inability to answer. None of the ELT had an answer. It shows just how little they care about their employees.

Solidarity, everyone. Lend your strength to the people being brave enough to ask hard questions. Don’t chip away at their strength and bravery. If their question was poorly worded, that doesn’t change the validity of it. Can we not have empathy for a person who was likely nervous and frustrated by their situation? I’d take someone showing their humanity and emotion over an eloquent speech full of non-answers.

replying to:
["It was surprising that David Cordani couldn’t answer the (poorly worded) question about claims employees being forced to switch to work for FirstSource, an overseas vendor (at lower pay and benefits according to other posts here)."

Right?? if you're going to throw your job away, you might as well practice what you're going to say.]

I can only imagine the amount of courage and emotion it took to say what he said. I understood the question clearly without hesitation, apparently David Cordani and you didn't. I can only speculate that the person who asked this question had to purposefully alter his initial submitted question to David as everything is screened before it gets to him. Then when finally being given the opportunity to ask the question to David live, this brave guy switched his softball question to a real question. As a Medicare employee, I too feel betrayed even before the news of the potential sale. I am happy this guy had the courage to ask this question and celebrate him.

Below someone said- “Today, it was specifically stated they will be sending reports to teams so they can address non-compliance.”

I didn’t hear that stated in the Town Hall. Did I miss it? Can others confirm this?

"It was surprising that David Cordani couldn’t answer the (poorly worded) question about claims employees being forced to switch to work for FirstSource, an overseas vendor (at lower pay and benefits according to other posts here)."

Right?? if you're going to throw your job away, you might as well practice what you're going to say.

It was surprising that David Cordani couldn’t answer the (poorly worded) question about claims employees being forced to switch to work for FirstSource, an overseas vendor (at lower pay and benefits according to other posts here).

He can’t know everything but why didn’t anyone else on the ELT jump in to answer this?? Where was IT/Service Ops or HR leadership? Embarrassing.

"Did anyone catch specifically he said 51% or more in the office? Sounds like they’re looking at hours too. Any idea what would happen if people aren’t compliant?"

I don't think that they are looking at hours, at least for salaried positions. We badge in, but there is no mechanism for badging out. At my site, you can just walk out without scanning anything. I've seen people come in, connect at their desk for 20 minutes and then pack up and leave. My guess is that they are just looking at days badged in bug perhaps this will be clearer after the reports start to generate.

If leadership cared about employees and didn’t want to lay them off then they’ve had years to train people on new skills. They. Don’t. Care. They make millions $$$ every year. Between David and the finance guy, they probably make more than you and your entire team combined. They. Don’t. Care.
And by the way, “vitality” and behavioral health issues provoke 40% of health care costs. They don’t care about well being unless it boosts profits

"Also, noticed a palpable change in the FOW narrative. When it was first discussed during phase one, we were told they weren't going to monitor badge swipes and there were no plans to send managers compliance reports. The expectation was employees are professionals and will do what they're supposed to do. Today, it was specifically stated they will be sending reports to teams so they can address non-compliance. That should tell everyone how Phase 1 is going."

And instead of addressing it in a way where they try to understand why people aren't complying and have the policy reflect what makes sense for the employee population, they want to enforce compliance. It's totally backwards, and it sounds like the higher ups need to be reminded that we don't live to work, we work to live!

Never saw Cordani stammer after being asked a question before. No one thought he might be asked about forcing employees to go work for an offshore vendor? Hard to believe.

Also, noticed a palpable change in the FOW narrative. When it was first discussed during phase one, we were told they weren't going to monitor badge swipes and there were no plans to send managers compliance reports. The expectation was employees are professionals and will do what they're supposed to do. Today, it was specifically stated they will be sending reports to teams so they can address non-compliance. That should tell everyone how Phase 1 is going.

Did anyone catch specifically he said 51% or more in the office? Sounds like they’re looking at hours too. Any idea what would happen if people aren’t compliant?

I have always respected David and the way he manages his position. I appreciate that he briefly acknowledged the layoffs head on prior to the Q&A. However, I do not appreciate that he said that there were "some" layoffs. Thousands of anything is usually a lot more than "some", in my opinion.

Also, it does seem like Cigna is attempting to grow Medicare in some way (perhaps via Centene and/or Humana, according to rumors). But it seems they are laying off a lot of people at Medicare before the growth will happen.

Overall, I am positive about the trajectory of Cigna. But, I am rather pessimistic about my job and that of others. It's going to be a wild 2024..

"I get so frustrated when they talk about return to office (it's not the future of work, it's forcing us all to stay in the past). They talk about vitality and caring about the workforce, but want people to all adhere to the same rules without taking into consideration personal preferences or constraints."

Agreed, it's particularly frustrating when they then post an IRIS article about DEI as well. RTO movements do not promote DEI.

RTO hurts:

• Minorities - working from home allows an escape from microagressions.
• Parents, especially women - with the childcare situation being what is, working from home allows flexibility for parents. RTO removes that flexibility and sees a decline in women in the workforce as they must leave to take care of their children.
• Caregivers - what can be said for parents can be said of caregivers for elderly family or other adult family members
• Those with neurodivergence - those with neurodivergence can find working from home easier because of the ability to set boundaries and reduce stimulus.
• Working class - Let's be honest unless you're in the 1%, you save money by working at home.

If your job can be done at home and you're getting your work done, then let the employee choose.

No comment on rumors. Corporate America will easily deny false rumors. The way they avoided sale or merger questions means it’s gonna happen. Which one? Who knows. Might as well get each pay check we can while we look for other opportunities.

FOW? I’m expecting our managers to get weekly reports of who is badging into offices or it’s another tactic to get people to leave so Cigna doesn’t have to do a mass layoff.

Notice that all these Cordani well-being asks are all things that you need to do outside of work. What about during work? Why not give us vitality and well-being boosting actions to do on the Cigna dime?

I get so frustrated when they talk about return to office (it's not the future of work, it's forcing us all to stay in the past). They talk about vitality and caring about the workforce, but want people to all adhere to the same rules without taking into consideration personal preferences or constraints. They don't care where the rest of your team is located. They want the headcount to show that their precious real estate is definitely worth lots of money and is a very good investment. Seeing people up on stage talking about how they love being in office and feel revitalized, they don't reflect the wider employee base. They have money for childcare, to not worry about cooking healthy and low cost meals, to be able to travel to and from work, to pay for work appropriate clothing. I'm so tired of it.

So thankful for this website. Never felt so connected with colleagues and what everyone is thinking. I’m had just read about the Firstpost layoff yesterday on this website and soemone asked this question today. Then the talks about MA business. Humana Cigna merger.
Thank you to all colleagues for helping post information which we would never know from leadership. Townhalls and talks are so complicated. They never tell or show how it is. But this collective consciousness we are building helps everyone understand what’s going on.

So we don’t comment on rumors, but that seems like the talk is more than just a rumor. I won’t be surprised if Medicare Advantage is sold within the next 6 months.

Sounds like they are avoiding the FOW mistakes they made too.

Cringe corporate talk ZZZZZ

It's so wild how they talk in circles and say they're being "transparent." They're talking a lot but aren't saying ANYTHING.

Did you all hear that ? He question about First post ? Dave was speechless , OMG

I love how he talked about a net positive addition of jobs over the past year like that’s a good thing. Clearly it means they had to get rid of expensive talent only to hire more cheaper employees.

Yup Im also thinking a lot of these questions are plants. Seriously who are they fooling

Cringe corporate talk ZZZZZ

Seems to be a lot of “plants” asking questions. Aside from that, like every town hall, primarily propaganda. And did cordani refer to the layoffs as “job displacement”?