UnitedHealth Group is moving its long-time corporate headquarters from Minnetonka to nearby Eden Prairie, with plans to occupy the same buildings as the company's Optum division.

The move is scheduled for the first half of next year, said company spokeswoman Caroline Landree.

As with other corporations, the move reflects how UnitedHealth Group needs less space, the company says, as more work has shifted outside of traditional office space since the start of the pandemic.

"UnitedHealth Group offers many ways for our teams to structure how and where work gets done," the company said in a statement.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, which first reported the headquarters shift, reported in March that UnitedHealth Group had decided to not renew the lease on the current headquarters at 9900 Bren Road.

UnitedHealth's main office will move to a complex of three company-owned buildings on Optum Circle in Eden Prairie.

"The Optum Campus offers many amenities and plenty of space to meet our current needs, while providing room for future growth," the company said in a statement.

UnitedHealth Group employs about 18,000 people in Minnesota, Landree said.

The company runs UnitedHealthcare, which is one of the nation's largest health insurers. Optum is the company's division for health care services including pharmacy benefits management, direct patient care and IT/health care consulting.