Steve Wevodau

Prospects bleak for laid-off insurance work force

Posted by Steven Wevodau

By Megan Loiselle
Wausau Daily Herald

Local employment staffing professionals say laid-off Wausau Insurance employees could face a tough job market if they decide to stay in central Wisconsin.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which has owned Wausau Insurance for a decade, announced Thursday that it is eliminating the Wausau brand and cutting some jobs. The company employs almost 1,400 people in Marathon County, Liberty spokesman Brad Zweck said.

On Friday, Zweck again declined to say how many jobs will be cut, referring instead to his earlier statements.

“We expect that there will be little net job loss overall. The vast majority of employees will stay with Liberty Mutual,” he said Thursday.

Others will go to work for brokers who sell insurance to medium-size companies, Zweck said. Those who don’t keep their jobs will be given severance packages and assistance seeking new employment.

If laid-off workers are looking for other insurance-related jobs in the area, a few companies do have posted openings.

Sentry Insurance has openings in finance, customer service and actuarial sciences at their Stevens Point location, according to its Web site, www.sentry.com.

And Church Mutual Insurance Company in Merrill has one posting for a job in risk management on its Web site, www.churchmutual.com.

Laurie Prochnow, president of Management Recruiters in Wausau, said companies still are hiring on the management and professional levels but opportunities could be difficult to find locally.

Many of the openings are in specialized fields rather than general clerical positions, said Lisa Westphal, owner of Management Recruiters in Wausau.

“Realistically, it’s not a good time,” said Kathy Croker, business development specialist at Manpower Staffing Agency of Wausau. “From what we understand, for one job opening, employers are receiving 50 to 100 resumes.”

With companies continuing to downsize, Croker said finding a new job in the area is not going to happen instantly.

“They may need to look elsewhere and that’s unfortunate,” Croker said.

Representatives at the Job Center of Wisconsin in Wausau and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development said they had not received any reports of layoffs at Wausau Insurance.

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