GoHealth, a Chicago-based online health insurance marketplace that specializes in Medicare plans, is laying off 20% of its workforce.
The company is cutting its staff by 800 employees, including 100 positions in Chicago, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The latest mass layoffs to hit the Chicago tech scene were announced in a note to employees posted online Tuesday by GoHealth CEO Vijay Kotte.
“We are taking the difficult, but necessary, step of significantly reducing our agent workforce and support teams,” Kotte said. “It was only after an exhaustive analysis of our business needs and extensive consideration that we agreed this was the path forward to secure our long-term future and enable GoHealth to achieve its full potential.”
The GoHealth layoffs follow a similar downsizing announcement Monday at Chicago-based Groupon, which cut 15% of its workforce.
Founded in 2001, GoHealth started as a health insurance technology platform and evolved into a digital marketplace that helps match an aging population with Medicare Advantage plans.
GoHealth went public in 2020, raising $914 million to fuel expansion plans. Last year, the company generated nearly $1.1 billion in revenue, but had a net loss of $534 million, including goodwill impairment charges. For the first quarter of 2022, GoHealth reported nearly $271 million in revenue with a $37 million net loss.
In June, the company replaced co-founder and CEO Clint Jones with Kotte, a veteran health care executive.
GoHealth had about 5,500 employees at the end of last year, according to its annual report. The company had 967 employees in Chicago as of November 2021, according to the Chicago Tribune Top Workplaces survey, which ranked GoHealth No. 69 among midsize employers.
The workforce was down to about 4,000 employees worldwide as of June, the company reported. The corporate headquarters are at 214 W. Huron St. in River North.
The latest GoHealth layoffs were announced just days ahead of the company’s second quarter earnings, which are scheduled to be released Monday. The ax fell one day after Groupon, the struggling Chicago-based online marketplace, announced it was laying off 500 employees, including 293 positions associated with the company’s River North headquarters at 600 W. Chicago Ave.
Departing GoHealth employees, who were notified Tuesday, will receive a minimum of 60 days compensation and benefits. They will have access to career and job placement services, will be able to keep their company-issued laptops and will be released from noncompete limitations, according to Kotte’s employee note.