Protective Life Corp., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc., announced it will expand its virtual workforce by closing six offices nationwide.
Protective said employees at the six offices slated for closure will join the company’s full-time virtual workforce, expected to represent 40 percent of the company’s overall workforce.
Protective will retire its physical offices in Bannockburn, Ill.; Brentwood, Tenn.; Denver; Elgin, Ill.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Portsmouth, N.H. The company said the moves would take place over the “next couple of years.”
“As we look to the future with a focus on growth and scale, we know there are benefits to expanding our virtual workforce, and throughout the pandemic, we have learned our employees can succeed in the virtual environment,” President and CEO Rich Bielen stated. “Together, our virtual workforce and three core sites will complement each other, enabling us to serve more customers, deliver excellent partnerships, further attract talent, support our employees and increase our impact in the communities where we live and work.”
The moves would leave three physical offices remaining nationwide – Birmingham, Ala., Cincinnati and St. Louis.
Protective said 19 percent of its staff worked remotely before the pandemic, and in the six months since, that has swelled to 95 percent of all employees.
“With employees performing well in this environment, and many signaling they would like to continue doing so post-pandemic, Protective decided to accelerate implementation of its workforce strategy,” the company stated.
As employees who work in sites scheduled for closure join Protective’s full-time virtual workforce, Protective said it remained committed to providing resources to help them thrive in this new environment.
“Over the past six months, staying connected with each other has been a key driver of our success, and Protective will continue investing in the technology, capabilities and resources to support our teams as we continue to evolve the way we work,” Bielen stated.
Protective said its expanded virtual workforce provided more flexibility for employees while enabling productivity and driving operational effectiveness.
