Optum is closing clinics in multiple states and laying off 524 employees across California.
According to regulatory documents filed July 18, the UnitedHealth Group company will terminate the California employees from Sept. 16 through January 2025 at clinic and administrative office locations in Hayward, Glendora, Montbello, Covina, Pasadena, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Irvine, Beaumont, Redlands, Highland, El Segundo, and Cerritos. The layoffs include some remote employees in other states.
At Optum California's corporate office in El Segundo, 64 individuals will be laid off. Another 157 employees will be laid off at a Landmark Health location in Cerritos.
Landmark employees began posting on social media beginning July 18 regarding a large reduction in force they say occurred nationwide. Landmark became a part of Optum in 2021. The Huntington Beach, Calif.-based company specializes in house calls and medical, behavioral, social and palliative care for individuals with multiple chronic conditions across more than 35 states.
Optum described permanent closures at an additional 15 addresses in California, including urgent and primary care clinics, infusion services facilities and medical groups. Across those facilities, 303 employees will be terminated.
In Colorado, Optum is closing three urgent care clinics in Colorado Springs and Monument by Aug. 1, KKTV reported. In Florida, Optum is closing a WellMed clinic in Tampa by Aug. 19, WFLA reported.
"We continually review the capabilities and services we offer to meet the growing and evolving needs of our businesses and the people we serve," a spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group told Becker's. "As always, we will support affected team members with job placement resources and seek to deploy them where possible to any open roles within the company."
Optum and its subsidiaries have conducted workforce reductions multiple times over the past year, including at the Everett (Wash.) Clinic and the Polyclinic in Seattle; Morgantown, W.Va.-based MedExpress Urgent Care; and San Antonio-based WellMed. In August, MedExpress clinics eliminated all registered nursing positions at nearly 150 facilities.
In April, Optum shuttered its telehealth division. In May, the company said it would close a Change Healthcare facility in Toledo, Ohio, resulting in the termination of 129 employees.
Optum has more than 310,000 employees across the globe. Total second quarter revenues at Optum were $62.9 billion, up 11.7% year over year.
The UnitedHealth spokesperson noted the company currently has more than 20,000 job openings across the country, with many remote positions available.