St. Paul-based Securian Financial lays off 58 employees

Securian Financial has notified 58 employees — approximately 2% of its total workforce — that their roles with the company are being eliminated in favor of cost-cutting.

Not including subsidiaries, the life insurance and financial services company maintains about 2,721 employees companywide, with 2,371 of them based in downtown St. Paul as of September. The 58 impacted employees represent a broad cross section of the company, which has offices throughout the U.S. and Canada, and are not all in St. Paul, said Jeff Bakken, a company spokesperson.

“This was a difficult decision impacting people we care for significantly,” Bakken said. “We will go above and beyond to ensure they are supported — with impacted individuals remaining employed with the company for several months and eligible for a financial support package.”

Bakken said the privately-held company’s business strategy is “generating positive results” but a workforce reduction and other actions to reduce expenses “are necessary to position the company for long-term success.”