AVIVA will today announce plans to cut 4,000 UK jobs, including as many as 1,700 positions that will not be relocated to the insurer’s offshore businesses in India and Sri Lanka, The Times has learnt.
Union representatives and elected members of the forum that represents staff in talks with management will be told of the cuts at an 8.30am meeting.
Staff will be lost from the general insurance and life businesses as part of streamlining of Aviva’s UK operations. Less swingeing cuts are likely at Aviva’s international arm.
The changes were masterminded by Patrick Snowball, the executive director in charge of Aviva UK. He cut costs while in charge at the insurer’s general insurance business, which he ran until January.
The insurer is also expected to announce widespread office closures across its UK business operations. “It’s pretty far- reaching,” an insider said.
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Richard Harvey, chief executive of Aviva, signalled last month that the changes were imminent. “We believe that there is much to gain in the UK from closer working practices and a more integrated management approach to our life and general insurance businesses,” he said.
Aviva announced in September 2004 that it would send 7,000 jobs offshore by the end of 2007. This figure rose to 7,800 after the insurer bought the RAC for £1.1 billion in May 2005.
The insurer has 5,250 workers in India and 250 in Sri Lanka, with a further 2,300, at most, to be removed by the end of 2007. Many of the jobs to be cut tomorrow will go entirely, rather than be replaced offshore.