Highmark Inc. is in the final stages of dismantling Employee Benefit Data Systems, the subsidiary it acquired three years ago, with many employees being transferred to other positions within the Pittsburgh health insurance titan.

The space that eBDS occupies in Gateway Towers will be emptied by the end of this month. "We are exploring with the owner of the building different options for the space," said company spokesman Michael Weinstein.

Of eBDS' 180 employees, about 90 percent have been or are in the process of being placed in comparable positions at Highmark or HM Insurance Group, another Highmark subsidiary, Mr. Weinstein said. Some of the shifted employees have full-time jobs, while others are working under temporary contracts.

Since October, Highmark has been slowly emptying the offices of eBDS, a Pittsburgh-based benefits processing system that managed high-deductible plans and health savings accounts. Starting in April, Highmark began shedding top-level eBDS managers, and in May Highmark announced that all eBDS assets would be absorbed by either Highmark or HM Insurance Group.

In separate news, Highmark confirmed that it would be cutting 10 positions by the end of this month. Those jobs are unrelated to eBDS positions. Highmark said it hoped to move the employees occupying those severed positions to other jobs in the company.

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