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Louisianans settle in |
| By TOM DROEGE World Staff Writer |
| 12/17/2004 |
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| Transfers boost State Farm work force |
One of the biggest questions on the local economic front about a year ago was whether State
Farm Insurance Cos. would close its operations center in Tulsa.
The company was conducting a regional efficiency study to determine how to consolidate work in
Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma. As the review neared completion, employees and city officials
at each location braced for the decision.
Tulsa, having already suffered through more than two years of economic decline, held its breath.
The city was in jeopardy of losing hundreds of more jobs.
But in February, State Farm announced it was not only staying in Tulsa but also that it would add
jobs here. Today it's harder to find a place in the parking lot, and the cafeteria line is longer. The
company's Tulsa work force is at its highest level in years.
Tulsa gained about 200 jobs after State Farm decided to close two facilities in Monroe, La., where
about 1,100 people worked. Columbia, Mo., also gained several hundred jobs in the restructuring.
State Farm spokesman John Wiscaver said the addition in Tulsa brings local employment to
about 1,000.
"This facility was built to handled those numbers by design," he said.
The Tulsa operations center occupies a sprawling campus on the northwest corner of 51st Street
and 129th East Avenue. The two-story, 215,000-square-foot building was built in 1989.
For those State Farm employees who decided to move to Tulsa, the company offered a
relocation package that helped with moving expenses and costs associated with selling their
homes in Monroe and buying new dwellings in Tulsa.
Claims and underwriting, the largest departments at the Tulsa center, saw the highest increase in
workers. Most of the newcomers are from Monroe, while a few came from satellite offices in
Arkansas, Oklahoma and elsewhere in Louisiana. Wiscaver said the transition is about 90
percent complete.
Ronny Bryant, a State Farm employee, decided in the spring to move his wife and two children
from Monroe to Tulsa. Other than having to say goodbye to old friends, he said the transition has
been smooth.
Bryant lived in Monroe for six years but imagines the move was harder for those who had resided
there longer.
"Some of the folks had been living in Monroe all their lives," Bryant said. "Of course it was
different for them."
In fact, he said, many employ ees from Monroe are planning trips back to their home city to see
family for Christmas. In other cases, Louisiana residents will visit family in Tulsa for the holidays. |
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Tom Droege 581-8361
tom.droege@tulsaworld.com |
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| RELATED PHOTOS & GRAPHICS |
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| State Farm Insurance Cos. employees Sue Snyder (from left), Teresa Terry and Joanne Phillips discuss business Monday in the finance department at the company’s regional office in southeast Tulsa. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World |
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| A man walks into the State Farm Insurance Cos. office near 51st Street and 129th East Avenue on Monday.
Ten months after the company chose to close an office in Monroe, La., and relocate some of its employees
to Tulsa, it appears the new transfers have settled into the community. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World |
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