Aviva axes 4,000 to save 250m
UK insurance giant Aviva is to shave 11% from its 36,000-strong UK workforce in a bid to save 250m by 2008. Norwich Union will see 4,000 jobs go, including 1,000 shifted to India and 500 IT jobs outsourced to third parties.
Finextra says about half of the job losses will be compulsory with the remaining job cuts made through normal staff turnover, redeployment, not filling vacancies and voluntary redundancy where appropriate.
Patrick Snowball, head of Aviva's UK operations says mushrooming internet sales are to blame.
The Financial Times says this year workers at Prudential suffered a similar fate when the company announced major cuts and Indian outsourcing plans in a bid to save 150m a year by 2009.
Royal and Sun Alliance is to cut 1,000 jobs in the UK, while up to 600 will go at Skandia's UK arm.
Aviva is closing offices in cities including Belfast, Glasgow, Newcastle, Norwich. Finextra says the group has almost doubled its Asian workforce to 7,000 in the past two years, with 5,500 staff now based at centres in India and Sri Lanka.
