The number of permanent employees who will leave the company is estimated to be around 800
Norwich Union Life, a unit of Aviva, has confirmed a number of changes to its operations across the UK which is expected to involve a reduction of 1,100 permanent roles by the end of 2009.
The life and pensions provider said that, over the past three years, it has undertaken a series of major projects to simplify its operations and improve efficiency. As this work nears completion the number of roles in the business will reduce. The majority of these roles are in business change and IT. The remainder are spread across other areas of the business which will be reducing in size to reflect the simplified organisation.
The company noted that a number of vacancies have also been closed. Consequently, the number of permanent employees who will leave the company is estimated to be around 800. In addition, 590 contract positions will be closed over the next few months.
Mark Hodges, CEO of Norwich Union Life, said: Our strategy over the last three years has seen us transform and simplify our business, leaving us well placed to face the challenges ahead. We have made significant progress in improving our operational efficiency and are also nearing completion on a series of major change projects. Unfortunately, this means that a reduction in the number of roles in the business is inevitable.
Making decisions that affect our people is always difficult and we are fully committed to doing everything we possibly can to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies. Our priority now is to work with everyone affected by today’s announcement and to support them however we can.