GLEN ALLEN, Va. — Following what it referred to as a trend in the financial services industry, locally based specialty insurer Markel Corp. is laying off 80 employees over a nine-month period as it moves toward outsourcing its IT services.
The Fortune 500 announced the cuts internally Tuesday. Of the 80 positions across the U.S. and in London, about 40 are at its Richmond headquarters in Innsbrook.
Markel plans to contract with a national IT provider, the name of which was not released because a contract has not been finalized. The company expects that some of the employees affected will be hired by the contractor or offered other jobs within Markel.
“We are committed to working with our employees during this transition period over the next nine months,” Markel spokesperson Jennifer Blackwell said in a statement.
Blackwell added that the company is “seeking efficiencies” that would allow it to focus on its core business of specialty insurance products and services.
