American Family Insurance is cutting 160 contractual workers in information technology services in Madison due to slower business conditions.
Company spokesman Steve Witmer said the cutback scheduled for mid-December will not affect customer service or the company's core business functions but will slow down less-critical projects.
After the reduction, Witmer said, American Family will have 300 contractual and about 1,000 full-time information technology employees. The contractual workers work for vendor companies.
Witmer blamed the cutback on fewer car and home sales, which have slowed growth in the insurance industry.
American Family also is facing its third consecutive year of high losses due to storms. The company built up its capital reserves to cope with the losses during earlier years when losses were lower.
Witmer said the contractual worker cuts are not part of a larger company reduction plan.
"We'll continue to look at our (information technology) needs and make adjustments as necessary," he said.
American Family, which offers auto, property-casualty, life and other types of insurance in 18 states, is one of Madison's largest employers with 3,800 workers in Madison and more than 8,500 nationwide.
The company, one of the nation's largest property-casualty insurers, works with about 4,000 agents who are independent contractors but exclusively sell American Family products.
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