At least 50 people will be losing their jobs in Waterloo as insurance provider United Healthcare announced Thursday that it will be closing its call center in the city. The decision comes nearly three years after the Minneapolis-based insurance carrier doubled its full-time workforce at the center.

Twenty-five new full-time employees were hired in the summer of 2008 at the facility on Airport Boulevard. Officials say they plan to integrate the Waterloo center with larger offices in Duluth, Minnesota and Louisville, Kentucky. The closure of the Waterloo facility will begin in March and be completed by May.

By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls

Radio Iowa