Insurance Carrier Cuts 50 Workers in Woodland Hills

21st Century Insurance, has laid off 7 percent of its workforce nationwide, 50 of whom worked in Woodland Hills.

The company, a subsidiary of beleaguered carrier AIG, sells car, home and other types of insurance and has been a part of AIG since Sept. 2007.

Employees at 38 offices in the U.S. were affected by the downsizing, said Joe Norton, a spokesperson for AIG.

In addition to the Woodland Hills office cuts, 21st Century will be closing its Long Beach office. Some of the other operations in California are being consolidated, Norton said.

“Those changes were precipitated by the need to control expenses,” Norton added. “Premiums have declined during a very difficult economic time.”

The Woodland Hills layoffs are large enough to be affected by California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The act requires employers to give affected employees and other state and local representatives 60 days notice in advance of a plant closing or mass layoff.

California employees have been briefed about benefits and severance and are also eligible for outplacement services, Norton said.