BLOOMINGTON — State Farm told the Illinois government that it plans to lay off over 400 employees, but a company spokesman says the cuts are tied to previously announced plans to outsource information technology services.
The Bloomington-based insurance giant announced last month that it would “reimagine” State Farm’s IT service desk and infrastructure operations, outsourcing the services to India-based HCLTech.
The company said at the time, and spokesman Chris Pilcic reiterated this week, that “many” of the affected State Farm employees would be offered positions with HCLTech. The company previously declined to specify how many employees would be affected by the change.
But State Farm told the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity last month that it would lay off 451 people at the end of March, the Chicago Tribune first reported Wednesday evening.
The notification comes as part of requirements under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires large employers to give the state notice when mass layoffs or plant closures are planned.
Asked for detail about the filing, spokesman Pilcic said:
“The WARN notice was filed related to an announcement we made in January detailing a decision State Farm will work with HCLTech, a leading global technology company, to assume the day-to-day IT Help Desk and infrastructure services work.
“HCLTech will manage hardware, infrastructure software, and network connections support for State Farm. As part of that announcement, we shared that this relies on the skills and knowledge of talented employees currently doing this work at State Farm.
“Many of these employees have been offered opportunities to join HCLTech in similar roles with similar work arrangements in their current locations supporting State Farm.”
He did not specify exactly how many employees would be offered positions. HCLTech representatives did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
State Farm is Bloomington-Normal’s largest employer with 14,436 workers, according to a 2022 report from the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council.
State Farm logos through the years
1925: The first logo
"Customers placed a metal badge on their cars to let everyone know they were covered by State Farm. This lasted until the mid-50s." — statefarm.com
1929: Life Company
"The cornucopia was used as the logo for Life Company as a way to reassure customers our coverage offered 'Plenty for You and Yours.'" — statefarm.com
1935: Fire
"A fire hat enclosed by an oval became the Fire and Casualty Company logo. And, the logos were combined to show the three State Farm companies." — statefarm.com
1953: Tri-ovals
"The company had grown a lot since the ‘20s. This logo reflected a larger State Farm that offers more coverage to its growing customer base." — statefarm.com
2012 Brand
"Our products and services now extend beyond insurance, so we created a more contemporary version of the logo. The three ovals remain as a connection to our roots." — statefarm.com
Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.
Kelsey Watznauer
City Editor
