Jackson National Life will shut down its Denver office
Jackson National Life Insurance Co. will shut down its Denver operations by the end of this year, company representatives said, taking what is likely to add up to hundreds of jobs with it as it leaves the state.
“Reduced staffing needs” locally are driving the impending closure, Jackson spokeswoman Melissa Hernandez told The Denver Post in an email Monday. The reduced needs here come as the company’s offices in Memphis, Tenn., and its home base of Lansing, Mich., have continued to grow, she said.
“As a result, we have decided to consolidate our teams and close our Denver location,” Hernandez wrote. “Many of our associates will be offered relocation to our other regions. Jackson is committed to working to provide both financial and career-related resources to make the transition as smooth as possible.”
A retirement-focused financial services firm, Jackson is one of the top annuities sellers in the U.S. It eclipsed $12 billion in sales and deposits for all its products in the first half of 2017, according to a company fact sheet.
Jackson’s offices at 7601 Technology Way in the Denver Tech Center house Jackson National Life Distributors LLC, a sales and marketing-focused arm of the business, Hernandez said. Most of the company’s distribution work is being consolidated in Memphis, and many Denver positions will be relocated there both operational to allow Jackson and economic to “maximize efficiencies,” Hernandez said
Hernandez declined to reveal how many people will lose their jobs in Denver as a result of this decision.
A recent Denver Business Journal story about Jackson lists its local employment force at around 450 people, down from around 800 people in 2014.
As of Monday, Jackson had not filed a WARN — or Worker Readjustment and Retraining Notification Act — notice with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in regard to the closure, state officials said. A WARN notification is intended to give employees at least 60 days notice if their employer is planning to permanently or temporarily close a facility with at least 50 employees, though exceptions are made if employees accept transfers.
Jackson is being sued in U.S. District Court in Denver over alleged racial and sexual discrimination against seven black employees who worked at its Denver Tech Center office. That suit was brought by attorneys with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“The decision to close the Denver office was unrelated to the EEOC lawsuit,”
Hernandez wrote in an email. “Jackson routinely evaluates its business to ensure its offerings meet client expectations and are competitive in the marketplace.”