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After more than forty years of having a “home” here in Mattoon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois is packing up and heading out. That kind of long-term presence doesn’t typically disappear without leaving some sort of mark.
The news came about on Tuesday when a BCBSIL spokesperson confirmed to WCIA that the company’s office at 201 Coles Center Parkway will be closing. For those thinking the timing is a little surprising, you are likely not the only one given that the building itself only opened in 2021. At the time of that opening, it was celebrated as a space built for growth, with capacity for more than 300 employees. That growth apparently never materialized the way the company envisioned, and now the building is on its way to sitting empty.
For workers, the news isn’t necessarily a pink slip. The company says employees will shift from a partially remote schedule to fully remote, framing the closure as a real estate decision rather than a workforce reduction. Whether that holds true for every employee remains to be seen at this time.
What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Mattoon isn’t the only community dealing with the aftermath in Central Illinois. The Danville BCBSIL office is also set to close in June, making this part of a broader pullback from physical offices across the region. Whether any other Central Illinois locations are next is something the company hasn’t addressed yet.
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