posted January 31, 2003
The Cigna insurance firm in Chattanooga has told a group of computer programmers they are being terminated and the work shifted to foreign workers.
A group of Cigna employees in a software testing group were told Thursday that their employment will end in 90 days, during which time, they were to train their Indian-based replacements.
The workers from India connect to CIGNA's computers via phone lines and networks in the same way that Chattanooga-based employees do.
Last year, the company announced that it was entering into an outsourcing arrangement with Satyam, a company based in India. It was stated that this company had higher-quality, lower-cost workers than the American-based outsourcing firms with which CIGNA deals, and that CIGNA would use them to replace American consultants as well as back-fill staff vacancies.
David Feng, a Cigna spokesman, said, "After a detailed and thorough analysis, CIGNA Information Management & Technology has made the decision to transition the work of the Chattanooga-based Test Environment Unit to Satyam Computer Services.
"This decision will result in the closure of the local unit and the elimination of approximately 10 IM&T positions. These employee actions are part of the overall CIGNA HealthCare national restructuring plan announced earlier this year. Impacted employees were notified on Jan. 30 and most will be eligible for severance benefits and outplacement services.
"Satyam Computer Services is CIGNA’s Offshore Information Technology Service Provider based in India. This offshore information technology program – a strategy widely adopted by industry competitors such as Aetna, Wellpoint, Humana, AIG, Metlife and Prudential – will provide greater capacity to move new products to market faster, improve cost efficiencies and strengthen market competitiveness."
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