Allstate trims workforce by 2,000 employees

Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded home and auto insurer in the U.S., cut about 2,000 full- time employees last year.

The workforce fell 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 36,000 as of Dec. 31, the Northbrook-based company said today in a regulatory filing.

Allstate joins Principal Financial Group Inc., and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. in reducing staff in 2009. Principal cut 1,747 jobs as premiums fell in 2009, while Hartford eliminated 3,000 positions. Allstate's Robert L. Block, vice president of investor relations, said in March the insurer would cut 1,000 employees as it handles more business electronically.

"As every area of Allstate worked to prudently manage its business in 2009, we found ways to serve customers more efficiently in some areas and hired in other areas," Maryellen Thielen, an Allstate spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.

Allstate rose 2 cents to $31.30 today in regular New York Stock Exchange trading. It has climbed 78 percent in the past year.