Genworth notifies employees of job cuts

Eliminations come at heels of frozen acquisition by Oceanwide

Published January 20, 2021 by Sydney Lake

Henrico County-based Genworth Financial Inc. has notified some employees of job cuts, a company spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

The job cuts come on the heels of the company’s Jan. 4 announcement that its planned $2.7 billion acquisition by China-based Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. has been frozen. Company spokesperson Julie Westermann declined to share the number of planned job cuts or the estimated timeline for eliminating positions.

“This is not something we take lightly and we are committed to providing affected colleagues with the utmost care, compassion and support during this transition,” Westermann said in a statement. “Out of respect for our colleagues who are losing their jobs, we will not be providing any other details at this time.”

Oceanwide’s acquisition of the Fortune 500 insurance company — first announced in 2016 — had been reapproved in late November 2020 and was delayed until Dec. 31, 2020. However, on Monday, Jan. 4, with the acquisition still not finalized, both companies said that “the merger agreement remains in effect,” although the deadline was not extended.

While the merger finalization remains in question, Genworth announced Jan. 5 during a special investors call that it would focus on a contingency plan that includes a partial initial public offering (IPO) of the company’s mortgage insurance business. This would help the business meet its $1 billion in debt obligations due this year.

Genworth CEO Tom McInerney on Jan. 5 said that the company is planning the IPO for the first half of 2021. Additional details will be shared “as soon as possible,” according to the company. Genworth will hold its fourth quarter 2020 earnings call in early February.

Genworth employs approximately 3,500 people, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings made in 2018. In 2019, the company reported $343 million in net income.