Twelve hundred jobs to go, states insurance giant

A leading insurance giant has recently announced that it has to shed around twelve hundred jobs in the UK by the middle of 2010. Royal Sun Alliance has reported strong financial results, but despite this has said that it will still need to shed the many jobs in order to ensure that performance remains strong.

Around eight thousand people are employed by Royal Sun Alliance in the UK. The company wants to keep a tight reign on its finances, and is looking to deliver savings of over £70 million by the middle of next year, which is the time by which it also plans to shed the twelve hundred jobs. The insurance form said: “We expect to face challenging conditions but are confident of delivering sustainable profits.”

Union officials said that they were disappointed with the move, and one official from Unite said: “We have been involved in consultation with the company and both parties remain committed to mitigating the consequences of this decision. Our immediate priority is to communicate with our representatives and members. We will oppose any compulsory redundancies.”

The chief executive of Royal Sun Alliance said: “I see exciting opportunities to continue to build and grow RSA. But key to this will be reducing our costs. The healthier our expense base is, the more competitively-priced our products and services become. Decisions like these that affect our people are always difficult, but it is the right thing for our customers and our business. Every support will be given to our colleagues to assist them finding new roles, either within the business or with other companies.”