Chattanooga-based Unum said it is outsourcing some "high-volume, transactional processes," leading to the elimination of some financial positions.

Unum has contracted with EXL, a firm with headquarters in New York City, but with employees throughout the world, including many in India.

Unum officials said, despite the move, that its local employment is remaining steady.

A Unum employee whose job was cut said that this month Unum "eliminated 36 finance jobs and there will be more to come. They are giving employees three to six months to find a new job or collect severance at their end dates. They are outsourcing finance functions to an Indian-based company called EXL.

"Unum employees are to work with the Indians in a 'knowledge transfer'. There will be two types of training sessions: for those who kept their jobs and for those who are losing their jobs. There will also be cultural sensitivity training for U.S. employees.

"The IT Department is next."

Unum's Mary Clarke Guenther said, "We did eliminate a small number of transactional roles in our finance area, and those employees will all have three to six months to find other jobs with the company. With attrition and the creation of new roles, we hire about 100 people a month throughout the company. We’re hopeful internal employees will be able to fill some of these positions.

"The work that is being outsourced involves high-volume, transactional processes. The company we’ve hired to handle those processes specializes in that kind of work. They can bring superior technology and efficiency to those processes.

"Our employment in Chattanooga has remained relatively constant for the last decade, hovering between 2600 and 2800 employees. In the last two years, the number is actually trending upward. Given the size of our company, the ways we constantly evolve to meet customer expectations, and the ongoing fluctuation of roles in different business areas, a snapshot from this kind of shift would never offer a complete or accurate picture."

EXL was incorporated in April 1999 in Delaware by a group that included Vikram Talwar and Rohit Kapoor.

EXL earlier this year was named " a Top 10 Outsourcing Service Provider" by the Information Services Group (ISG), a leading technology insights, market intelligence and advisory services company.

