Transamerica Cuts Jobs In Cedar Rapids, Buys Back $200M In Stocks

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

By Amie Rivers

March 1, 2023

Another international company is laying off dozens of Iowans at the same time they’re enriching their stock price.

Transamerica Life Insurance Co. told the state it would lay off 42 workers at its Cedar Rapids location March 21. The company said it employs 1,600 workers at that location.

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“Positions are being eliminated across business lines and functions to adapt to changes in customer needs and demands,” a company spokesperson told Corridor Business Journal.

It’s not the first time in recent months that Transamerica, or its parent company Aegon, has cut jobs in Iowa: 55 positions were eliminated in December, 70 in August, and 40 in June of 2022.

But it’s not stopping Aegon from cashing in: The Netherlands-based company announced a stock buyback in the first quarter of this year of up to 200 million Euros, or roughly $213 million.

by Amie Rivers
3/1/23

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Amie Rivers

Amie Rivers is Iowa Starting Line's newsletter editor. She writes the weekly Worker’s Almanac edition of Iowa Starting Line, featuring a roundup of the worker news you need to know. Previously, she was an award-winning journalist at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier; now, she very much enjoys making TikToks and memes and getting pet photos in her inbox.

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