Cigna seeks to significantly downsize its office space in Visalia.

Cigna insurance once had some 1,400 employees in Visalia, but has been ratcheting that number down in the past 20 years. Cigna’s workforce peaked in Visalia in 2001 after construction of the new 185,000 square-foot Cigna office on Akers Avenue.

Cigna moved into the building in 2000, with an additional 50,000 square feet added later.

By 2020, Cigna cut its office space in Visalia by half. The effect on employment levels was unclear, as many employees already worked from home.

In 2015, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of the Cigna Building in Visalia for $16.97 million. Less than half of the 185,000 square-foot building was used as offices for the county. The remainder was leased out to Cigna, the IRS and others, generating more than a $1 million in annual revenue.

News reports said Cigna planned to cut office space at the Visalia call center by half as of Jan. 31, 2021. At the time Cigna, leased 96,000 square feet in what used to be their building on Akers Street and Tulare Avenue in Visalia. The Class A office has now been owned by Tulare County for nine years.

According to an agenda item for the Tulare County Board of Supervisors from Sept. 29, 2020, Cigna only wanted 44,637 square feet going forward — half of what they have been using in recent years and about a quarter of what they had when they opened decades ago. The county staff report said Cigna has been paying $135,000 a month for the space, but now would pay about $63,000 a month.

As of December 2024, Tulare County has three former Cigna spaces in the large building for lease. One is the former administration entrance that is 13,000 square feet. Then there is a 23,000 square-foot space on the second floor, and the latest is 37,000 square feet in the building that is available for lease, says the county General Services office.

It is for lease even though Cigna — now called Evernorth — retains the lease. Despite the fact the space is theirs, the big news is that the insurance company doesn’t use any of it.

A spokesperson for Evernorth Health Services writes in an email a few days ago: “As part of a move to shift some customer-facing roles to work-at-home positions, Evernorth Health Services (part of The Cigna Group) closed its Visalia office in January 2022 and all employees located at that site have been working remotely since then. Evernorth has an active lease at the Visalia site through May 2026.”

Sources say some Cigna workers still work at home in Visalia, although no number is available.

County officials are putting this last space up for lease immediately in case Cigna no longer needs it.

Despite the company’s empty space, their name is featured on the side of the complex, and County officials still refer to it as “the Cigna building.”

The insurance company joins other large firms that are shedding office space right now despite the trend toward returning to the office now that COVID-19 is behind us.

Enter Kaweah Health

Kaweah Delta is working with the County to use some of the former Cigna space soon.

Kaweah Health administrator Marc Mertz writes in an email:

“It is Kaweah Health’s intent to lease additional space in the Tulare County building near Akers Street and Tulare Avenue for outpatient services, including physician offices. The expected opening is the first half of 2025. Tulare County remains a strong partner to Kaweah Health in our ongoing efforts to improve local healthcare access. Kaweah already has some space in the building. Mertz says details of the lease will be made soon.

Some history

Visalia has some history of attracting big companies to the region, only to have them shrink and eventually close their doors.

One of the largest was Early California Foods — big in the olive business, but now long gone. It became Vlasic Pickles, but that too went away. Sierra Pacific Apparel was big in clothing. Of course, Jostens was big in the yearbook business. Now their building is still there but it is occupied by Sorma Packaging. Visalia’s largest retailer for decades was Gottschalks — now just a memory.  With roots and affiliation with the Farm Bureau, one of Visalia’s larger employers was Nationwide Insurance, a company that came to Visalia and built a large claims center on South Mooney Boulevard. The company shrunk and the building was sold to the County, which now occupies 100% of the space across from Mooney Grove.