Zurich Insurance to cut 240 jobs in UK

Swiss Life company Zurich will cut 240 jobs in the UK as part of a business restructure. The company said it will remove 240 jobs from the UK business after plans were announced last year to merge the life and general insurance departments. The new structure will be effective immediately but the firm will consult on the job cuts before making any decisions. 

Zurich said the jobs cuts would not be in "market facing" roles and were likely to be from back office positions. It said cuts would be made where there was overlap between life and general insurance positions. 

Tulsi Naidu, Zurich's UK chief executive, said the cuts would not affect the way Zurich worked with clients. 

‘We want to continue our market leadership in some areas and take advantage of opportunities to grow in others, making a strong business stronger still. It will be very much business as usual from a market standpoint as we simplify our structure,' she said.

The news follows an announcement earlier this week that Zurich would cut spending on large technology projects to reduce costs. CEO Mario Greco has previously said he wants to save $1.5 billion from 2015 through 2019, in part by dealing with the insurer’s cost structure. Plans to streamline the insurer’s corporate structure were first announced last summer.

Based at around 20 locations across the UK, Zurich employs approximately 6,000 people in the country.