Liberty Mutual still operating

GAINESVILLE - The sign may say "for sale" but Liberty Mutual says its regional division in Gainesville is still open.

The "for sale" sign went up on the Browns Bridge Road property recently as rumors continue to swirl that the office will be closed.

But, Liberty Mutual spokesman Glenn Greenberg says there are still about 200 people employed there and the decision to sell the properly is purely a business one.

Another 125 workers were laid off in December, prompting another round of rumors that the office was closing. Since then, the rumors have resurfaced several times.

Greenberg said Monday "nothing has changed re our employment plans. The sale of the building is strictly a business decision based on our space needs in that location." The asking price is $6.95 million for the building and grounds, according to the listing by Grubb & Ellis Company.

He went on to say "as we previously discussed with you late last year, we are in the process of a 22-month consolidation of our personal insurance policy production center, which, at the time, we reported as affecting approximately 125 full-time employees out of a total of more than 280 Liberty Mutual employees in Gainesville. The remaining employees support various commercial insurance operations, and those functions are not impacted by the personal insurance production center's departure."