As a state agency prepares to relocate 700 jobs from Burbank and Glendale, a Southern California lawmaker is raising questions about the move and whether the agency is doing enough for its workers.
The State Compensation Insurance Fund plans to close its Burbank claims-processing office at 2400 W. Empire Blvd. by late September, with most of the 200 jobs moving to Fresno and Redding.
By the fall of 2012, the agency expects to move its claim adjustments office out of six floors at the Unum building at Central Ave. and the Ventura (134) Freeway in Glendale, with those workers headed for Fresno, Stockton or Santa Ana.
The effort is part of a three-year plan to reduce the agency’s 7,400-person workforce by as much as 12% through attrition, consolidation of office space and relocation of about 2,200 workers, according to State Fund spokeswoman Jennifer Vargen.
Officials say the changes will reduce operating costs at the agency, which is the state’s largest provider of worker’s compensation insurance, by $200 million.