MetLife RI Employees Say Company Broke Promises

MetLife RI Employees Say Company Broke Promises

Employees at MetLife's Warwick, Rhode Island offices are asking more questions and getting fewer answers since the insurance giant announced earlier this month that it would relocate to North Carolina.

The official word to employees is that the workforce in North Carolina comes at a cheaper rate than in Rhode Island, yet many employees said that they have been scouring news articles and job sites, only to find that pay scales in North Carolina are equal to, or higher than, the current salaries earned in Rhode Island.

The new jobs in Charlotte and Cary, North Carolina are expected to pay an average salary of about $82,000 a year for product management, marketing, sales, and information technology position, according to a March 7 Associated Press story.

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Promises broken

Another question employees are pondering is why the upgrades and salary adjustments to align them with the North Carolina pay scales were promised but never issued.

A MetLife employee who asked to remain anonymous told GoLocalProv that this question was posed during several Q&A sessions now being held for employees, and the answer given was that the corporate office did not provide the funds to support the raises, even though the upgrades were listed on personnel records.

Until a few years ago, all employee grade levels, salaries, increases and promotions were reported to employees and accessible on MetLife’s Internet site. More recently, only senior level managers have been privy to this information, another shift which has angered and confused MetLife employees.

Employment opportunities down South?

Jobs for the new North Carolina headquarters will become available in six waves beginning May 1 through the end of 2014.

Current MetLife employees in Rhode Island relocating to North Carolina will have to reapply for their jobs and go through the selection process, with no guarantee that they will be rehired for their previous job, a source said.

Employees also said that they were told that a percentage of the jobs would be given to North Carolina residents.

The word of more than 2,600 jobs going to North Carolina is the largest jobs announcement in recent North Carolina history. About 1,400 jobs are expected to remain in Rhode Island.

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian told GoLocalProv that a series of meetings will be held to discuss ways to improve the company’s tenure in the state. "We are working very diligently with MetLife to ensure the viability of the 1,400 jobs that will remain on the Warwick campus,” Avedisian said.

Not everyone's happy in North Carolina

The consternation is not all in Rhode Island. In a scenario reminiscent of the aftermath of RI's rush to offer 38 Studios the lion's share of its economic development funding, some of North Carolina’s Mecklenburg county commissioners have argued about the haste involved in granting primary approval of a $1.9 million incentive package for MetLife.

Commissioners Chairwoman Pat Cotham, a Democrat elected last year, told the Charlotte Observer that commissioners only had about 15 minutes at a March 5 meeting in which to decide whether to give the incentives to MetLife. Commissioners say a Charlotte Chamber representative unveiled the company’s plans to them for the first time at that meeting.

MetLife's RI impact

MetLife was Rhode Island's 13th-largest employer and sixth-largest for-profit employer in 2011, with 2,604 employees in the state, according to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. 

There is some good news for displaced MetLife employees. Deb Nelson, marketing director for John Hancock Financial Network in Warwick, said that, “We would welcome those individuals (from MetLife) who apply,” for career opportunities within her organization. She said that the need for financial advisors especially is growing rapidly. 

Calls to MetLife for comment were not returned in time for publication.