MAJOR local employers Cigna insist they are completely committed to the future of the Greenock site amid concerns about jobs.

The global healthcare insurance giants, who have a 500-strong workforce in Inverclyde, have admitted they are withdrawing a product that some teams in the Knowe Road offices work on.

But bosses say they are pulling out all the stops to avoid redundancies by offering affected staff other roles locally.

The Tele was contacted by sources concerned about job losses after news broke of the internal shake-up.

A Cigna spokesperson said: "Cigna has been reviewing how to take forward its UK Employer Health medical products.

"Following a strategic business review, and after carefully considering all options, the decision has been made to stop providing this specific product.

"This decision enables Cigna to deepen its strategic focus on global healthcare and health services, including our UK International business, which is also based in Greenock and Glasgow and is unaffected by this decision.

"Cigna is fully committed to supporting all employees affected by these changes and will be actively partnering with them to find roles in other parts of the business.

"We are committed to avoiding redundancies if at all possible and we expect that the majority of these employees will be redeployed in other roles based in Greenock and Glasgow.

"Scotland remains an important location for Cigna and the company will have a large workforce in the Inverclyde region following these changes."

One source who asked not to be named said they were very worried about the future of the Greenock site and concerned about job losses.

The Tele reported back in February 2020 about the loss of 30 jobs in Cigna, just prior to the pandemic.

A year earlier the firm moved staff from their Pottery Street premises into their main HQ in Knowe Road after a long-term lease came to an end.