Norwich Union jobs at risk

by Gill Montia

Story link: Norwich Union jobs at risk

Aviva, the parent company of Norwich Union, is planning to reduce costs in the UK by £300 million over the next two years.

Andrew Moss, who has been chief executive of the group since July of this year, has confirmed that redundancies will be inevitable although no specific numbers have been mentioned.

The news comes as plans are already in place to shed 4,000 staff across the group.

Approximately half that number have already left through natural wastage and a further 2,000 job cuts are expected by the end of 2007.

The majority of Aviva’s 32,000 UK employees work for Norwich Union with 7,000 based at its regional centre in Norwich.

Regional offices likely to be affected by job cuts are located in York, Sheffield, Southampton and Perth.

Initially job losses are expected in IT and marketing departments and some administration and call centre vacancies are likely to be withdrawn.

Aviva will also continue its outsourcing strategy, only this month the group secured an agreement with Swiss Re, involving 1,000 staff administering life and pension policies.

In August, Aviva reported an 8% decrease in interim operating profit, to £1.54 billion, reflecting losses from the summer’s floods in the UK.