Providence-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island plans to lay off 80 employees, according to the Associated Press.
Although 80 employees will be terminated, approximately 130 will become employees of Dell — which has given Blue Cross its IT support for nearly 10 years — over the next 18 months, according to Blue Cross spokeswoman Stacy Paterno.
Dell will take on a larger role at Blue Cross in 2016, which CFO Michael Hudson said will save Blue Cross $100 million over the next seven years, according to the Providence Journal. Mr. Hudson believes relying on Dell for complex IT projects will be useful in the long run. "We're not an IT company. We're a health insurance company," he said, explaining why working with Dell will help Blue Cross.
As of October, Blue Cross employed approximately 950 Rhode Island employees.