Insurer to axe 1,250 jobs

Insurance group AMP announced plans to axe 1,250 jobs at its life insurance and pensions operations Pearl and NPI by the end of this year.

Insurance group AMP announced plans to axe 1,250 jobs at its life insurance and pensions operations Pearl and NPI by the end of this year.

The job losses come as part of a wide-ranging shake-up at the Australian-owned company.

AMP described the positions to go as "administrative and support roles"

The company said that as far as possible, the cuts would be achieved by natural staff turnover and voluntary redundancies.

Tony McGarahan, corporate relations director at AMP UK said the move would cut out overlaps at its various British operations.

The announcement comes as a further blow to jobs in the British insurance industry, which in recent years has seen tens of thousands of redundancies.

This week alone, 4,000 posts were threatened by a deal for CGU and Norwich Union to merge, while further cuts are expected from the planned tie-up of London Life and United Assurance.

AMP, which aims to reduce costs by £80 million in the next two years, said 500 jobs would be axed at NPI's bases in Tunbridge Wells, Kent and Cardiff. Most of those would be at the Kent operation.

A further 750 would be stripped from the Pearl operations, with up to 250 going at the headquarters in Peterborough, Cambs. The remaining 500 would be spread across the Pearl branch structure.

The Manufacturing Science and Finance union's national secretary for the finance industry, Bill Walsh, said: "We are shocked and saddened at the news. We will be seeking high-level meetings with the company with a view to avoiding compulsory redundancies and reducing the impact on our members."