Thomas Gounley

TGOUNLEY@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare is vacating nearly 50,000 square feet of office space in Springfield, and has asked its employees to work from home.

Spokeswoman Jessica Kostner told the News-Leader Thursday that the Minnesota-based company's lease on space in the building at 1930 W. Bennett St. is up at the end of August, and won't be renewed.

"As our business evolves to meet marketplace demands, employees working at our Springfield office location will begin transitioning to a work-at-home arrangement ... We anticipate this transition will cause no disruption to our clients," Kostner said.

"Employees who are unable to work from home will be provided help exploring other opportunities at the company or can opt for a severance package, if they so choose," she continued. "We remain committed to our employees and the local communities we serve."

Asked to elaborate on the reason for the change, and whether eliminating a physical office was something the company was doing in other areas, Kostner responded: "UnitedHealthcare has had success with telecommuting in a number of other communities. As a global company, with employees helping people all over the world, we've developed work practices and technologies that allow our employees to work in more agile, flexible and remote settings. We have embraced telecommuting as metrics have shown that telecommuters have higher quality performance, lower turnover rate and increased employee satisfaction."

Kostner said UnitedHealthcare already employs "several hundred local Springfield-area telecommuters" and that site-based employees were notified of the change earlier this week. She did not directly respond to inquiries regarding the number of employees who work out of the building, what type of positions they have or whether there were any reductions in staff size locally associated with the move.

The building at 1930 W. Bennett has 65,208 square feet of commercial space, according to the Greene County Assessor's Office.

Patrick Harrington, with owner Warren Davis Properties, told the News-Leader Thursday that he believes the structure was originally built in 2000 or 2001, and that UnitedHealthcare originally occupied the whole building.

Sometime before Davis Properties acquired the property two or three years ago, Harrington said, UnitedHealthcare vacated 16,500 square feet in the building.

Davis Properties has the space listed on its website as available for lease at $12.50 per square foot, but Harrington said there have been no takers.

Harrington, who wasn't aware of UnitedHealthcare's decision until contacted by the News-Leader, said the current space being vacated would likely be available for lease at a similar price point. He said the space includes large open areas that have been filled with cubicles. Given the open layout, and the abundance of parking at the site, Warren Davis will likely market the space as ideal for a call center, Harrington said.

UnitedHealthcare is an operating division of UnitedHealth Group, the largest single health carrier in the United States, according to the company's website. As of early 2015, UnitedHealth Group had a total workforce of approximately 185,000 worldwide.