Indicted home health company closes, 1,324 lose jobs

A Philadelphia home health care company indicted for Medicaid fraud in early February has ceased operations, costing 1,324 people their jobs - the largest of several recent layoffs in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Infinite Care Inc. filed a required notice with the commonwealth's Department of Labor and Industry that it would close its facility on Rising Sun Avenue. A letter dated March 4 mentioned "unforeseen business circumstances" related to the state health department's ordering the company to cease operations. The document did not mention the Feb. 5 announcement of the indictment of the company, a nearby sister company, and two executives - Julio Miranda, vice president of both companies, and Wanda De Martinez, treasurer of both.

Calls to Infinity Care were unanswered. Carolyn Myers, spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, said via e-mail that a formal arraignment date had not been set.

Meanwhile, Corix Utilities on Lindbergh Boulevard in Philadelphia filed a notice that it would lay off 227 employees and close the facility because a contract with Peco will expire in May. Many of those workers were hired to install electric meters and were represented by Utility Workers Union of America Local 609. The local unit was part of Corix Group of Companies, a privately held firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia, with U.S. offices in Wauwatosa, Wis., and Northbrook, Ill.

TransCare Mainline Inc., an ambulance company in Conshohocken, will soon lay off 38 of its 93 full-time employees, most emergency medical technicians and paramedics. That will leave the company with 125 total employees, and with just 55 full time.

Jim Pietro, director of human resources for TransCare's mid-Atlantic division, declined to discuss the reason for the cuts. But in the state notice, dated March 3, TransCare said the layoffs were related to the company's ending its contract with Main Line Health.

Mondelez Global L.L.C. which was formerly part of Kraft, has been in the process of closing its Roosevelt Boulevard bakery in Northeast Philadelphia. The company posted two notices for March, saying 172 employees would be impacted by May 15.

Finally, drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline announced in December that it was cutting more than 1,000 U.S. jobs, while also moving some positions from North Carolina to facilities in Montgomery County. GSK, which has about 1,000 employees at the Navy Yard, began notifying local employees in recent weeks and filed a notice of 150 layoffs, though the letter to state officials said the figure might prove to be less. A GSK spokeswoman said the jobs were part of those announced in December.

1,342

Employees who will lose their jobs at Infinite Care Inc. because the company is shutting down.

227

Employees who will lose their jobs at Corix Utilities because the unit is going to shut down.

38

Employees who will lose their jobs at TransCare Mainline Inc., likely because of ending a contract with Main Line Health.

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Inquirer staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.