The healthcare insurer will offer employees 55 and older who meet certain requirements an early retirement package.

Humana is laying off 1,300 employees, about 3 percent of its workforce, the Louisville-based insurance giant told workers in an email Monday.

The positions will be eliminated shortly after the start of the new year. Another 1,150 people took voluntary buyouts and will be leaving next year, the email said.

The email said affected employees are being informed this week that their current positions will be eliminated but added that they may apply for another job at Humana. As of Monday, there were more than 1,450 open positions.

Employees who are being laid off will be offered career counseling for the remainder of their time at Humana and two weeks of pay for every year of service at the company.

In the email, the insurance company said it had been taking a series of measures during the year “to position the company for long-term sustainable success,” including the buyouts, which were offered in September.

Spokeswoman Kate Marx did not immediately respond to a question about what prompted the layoffs, but Courier Journal reported that the company was jettisoning workers because it needed fewer of them after deciding it was withdrawing from coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Courier Journal reported in March that Humana would be eliminating an unspecified number of positions in Louisville and at sites in other states under a realignment and that those affected included top managers as well as entry-level employees.

The disclosures came after Humana’s acquisition by Aetna was called off.

To be eligible for the buyout, employees had to be 55 and have at least five years at the company, although those numbers in combination had to add up to 65.

Marx said in September that Humana had about 12,500 employees in Louisville. It had 51,600 employees nationwide last year.

The layoffs come as Humana has been on a roll. In early August, the company reported that second-quarter net income surged to $650 million and that adjusted earnings per share for the quarter rose 20 cents, to $3.49 from $3.29 a year ago. Analysts had forecast about $3.08 per share.

It will release its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday.

Humana CEO Bruce Broussard’s compensation last year was $19.7 million, including stock and option awards and nearly $2 million in incentive pay. His total compensation for last year represented a 91 percent increase over the $10.3 million he received the prior year.

Background: Humana to cut jobs, offer early retirement packages to some employees

The latest: With $37B Aetna deal off, Humana will listen to other offers

via:  courier-journal