Aviva, Britain's biggest life insurer, said it planned to shed 1,690 permanent and temporary jobs in the UK as a three-year efficiency drive nears completion.

In a statement, Aviva said it would shed a total of 1,100 permanent positions by the end of the year. About 800 workers at its UK-based Norwich Union business will be affected, with the remaining reductions to be achieved by leaving vacancies unfilled.

The insurer said it would also cut 590 contract positions "over the next few months."

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

At the end of 2008, Aviva had 28,424 employees in the UK and a global workforce of about 54,758, according to figures published last week in the group's annual report.

Aviva said its sites at York and Norwich in England would be most seriously affected by the latest round of cuts, shedding an estimated 349 and 226 permanent jobs respectively.

The company said the job losses mark the culmination of a three-year programme to simplify its UK life and pensions operation. Most of the targeted positions are in the group's business change and IT divisions, it added.