Tribune staff and wire | Health insurer Humana says it will eliminate about 1,400 jobs as it pushes to save money and adjust to a smaller enrollment. It is not ruling out some cuts in Illinois, where it has 650 workers, a spokesman said.

The Louisville insurer, which has more than 420,000 customers in the Chicago area as the third-largest health plan here, says it will balance 2,500 job cuts with 1,100 additional jobs in growth areas like pharmacy management and specialty products. The net loss of 1,400 amounts to 5 percent of its work force.

Just 650 of Humana’s 28,000 workers are in Illinois, largely in Chicago and Peoria and the insurer said it does “not anticipate” its employment number in the state to change though it was not ruling out job cuts here.

“Any positions eliminated in Illinois would be offset by new positions in the state,” Humana said in a statement to the Tribune.

In a press release, Humana says it has to align its size with its membership. The insurer’s total enrollment fell 11 percent last year. Humana finished 2009 with about 10.3 million people.

Humana sells commercial insurance and Medicare Advantage plans, administers Medicaid coverage and provides coverage through the military’s Tricare program.

Tribune staff reporter Bruce Japsen contributed to this story.

– Tribune staff reporter Bruce Japsen contributed to this story