CHARLOTTE — Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. will permanently close its Charlotte branch, laying off 164 workers, according to a noticed filed with the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

All impacted employees have been offered the opportunity to relocate to Massachusetts. The life insurer’s North Carolina facility is expected to close on June 30. The insurer announced a consolidation of operations months ago.

The company is “consolidating its operations to its main worksites in Massachusetts,” stated a March 28 letter to Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles.

Of the impacted workers, the majority work in investment services, business accepting consulting and calling center.

MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policy owners.

$30B company

MassMutual offers a wide range of financial products and services, including life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans, and other employee benefits, according to its website.

In late February, the company announced its financial results for 2018, reporting sales of $30.8 billion and $715 billion in provided insurance protection.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of normal business hours.

North Carolina has seen 1,769 employees affected through WARN notices in 2019, with 689 coming from Mecklenburg County, 318 from Pitt County and 310 from Durham County.

The notice was filed to pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which must be filed 60 days in advance of a plant closing that affects more than 50 employees in a 30-day period or a mass layoff of at least 500 employees or between 50 to 499 employees if they make up at least one-third of the employer’s workforce.

This story is from the North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Media and Journalism