Shrinking CUNA Mutual

MADISON, Wis. - (11/18/05) -- CUNA Mutual Group announced anotherround of lay-offs Thursday, with this one jobs for 185 employees inMadison and Waverly, Iowa, to be replaced by outsourcing. Thelay-offs, to be completed in the first quarter of 2006, come a fewweeks after 60 other Madison employees were given notice by CUNAMutual, and as many as 190 at CUNA Mutual Mortgage lost their jobswhen the unit was sold to PHH Corp. About 145 back-office employeesin Madison and 40 in Waverly will be affected, including workers infood service, documents, facilities, grounds, interior design,marketing and printing. CUNA Mutual said it is working closely withthe employees and their union, the Office and ProfessionalEmployees International Union, which ended a bitter contractnegotiation over issues like outsourcing just a few months ago.Union representatives did not return phone calls for commentThursday. The workforce cutbacks are part of an overall review ofthe credit union insurer's businesses and how they fit into acomprehensive strategy, according to Rick Ulhmann, spokesman forCUNA Mutual. "We're trying to stick to our core competencies," hetold The Credit Union Journal, suggesting that additional cutbacksmay be coming. "More change will be coming to CUNAMutual."