Business

Union anger as hundreds fired by Aviva

2 Apr 2009

Aviva tonight said it is to cut 1100 permanent jobs in the UK by the end of the year while 590 contractors' positions will go in the next few months.

The Unite union said the cuts would mostly be in Norwich and Manchester, with Norwich Union Life bearing the brunt.

Norwich Union Life chief executive Mark Hodges said: “We are fully committed to doing everything we possibly can to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies.”

But Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson said: “The announcement by Aviva will cause alarm across the insurance industry. Today, we see a scenario where a company that is continuing to deliver positive results is slashing the staff that have enabled them to weather the current financial storm.

“Unite is angry that Aviva is repeating what appears to be an annual exercise of cutting thousands of staff.”

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Having read your article regarding the redundancies, I think the comments from both Aviva and Norwich Union is ridiculous. I don't think Derek Simpson has quite hit the nail on the head either. The redundancies are not to accomodate the current financial crisis but to reduce costs in order to increase the profit margins and pay packets of those in the higher positions. I am an ex employee of Norwich Unions site based in Perth, between 2006 and 2007 we seen hundreds of jobs cut across most sites, which was put down to smaller profits, less business, higher percentages on claim payouts and there being an overall surplus of staff for the work available; however, whilst these jobs were being slashed, the staff levels in other parts of the world such as India were being increased. I even heard in 2008 that the department which I was employed in was being relocated to India, throughout my whole employment, I seen nothing but back logs of work and increases in business and customer contact, the fact that these jobs are being cut for the thin reasons given is simply rubbish.

- Scott Munro, Perth/Scotland, 16/04/2009 15:15
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