Standard Life announces 500 job losses
Edinburgh-based insurance and pensions giant Standard Life has today announced 600 job cuts over the next 15 months although the company did confirm that an additional 100 new posts would be created. The vast majority of the job losses, around 480, are expected to come from the company's Edinburgh offices with the remainder spread across the UK as a whole.
Like so many financial companies in the UK, Standard Life has reiterated the fact that the company needs to reduce its cost base for the future and a reduction in headcount is the only way forward. The company is currently in discussions with unions and a 90 day consultation period will soon begin. While there are hopes that a great number of the proposed job cuts will be filled by "natural wastage" there is no doubt that some people will see their contracts terminated.
The loss of nearly 500 jobs in Scotland is yet another blow to the Scottish economy which many believe is the weakest across the UK. Despite significant investment by the ruling SNP party over the last few years it seems that aside from growth in the public sector workforce the challenging economic times are wreaking havoc in the private sector.
Share this..
Related stories
Ireland's economy downgraded by Standard and Poor's
The recent rollercoaster ride of the Irish economy touched a low point today with news that the sovereign debt rating on Irish government debt has fallen from "AAA" to "AA+" which is a significant downgrade for a country. Ireland is only the second Eurozone country to feel the wrath of the credit rating agencies with Spain losing its "AAA" rating just a short while ago.
While the do...
Can we really trust economic data?
Last week's revelation that the initial 2.4% increase in GDP in the US economy in the second quarter was actually more like 1.6%, after the government revised the figure downwards, further highlights the difficulties and dangers of trusting economic data around the world. So is it sensible to base economic and investment decisions on data which can vary so wildly? The truth is there have always...
Read MoreUK factory gate data surprises analysts
Amid hopes that factory gate prices were set to increase during June it appears as though they actually fell by 0.2% against an expected rise of 0.3%. The 1.2% fall year-on-year is the largest single fall for over seven years and has made many analysts think again about the prospect of a short to medium-term recovery in the UK economy.
It was also interesting to see that input price...
Students 'staying at home to manage their debts'
One in four students are choosing to stay at home while they study so that they can save money.This is the main finding of new research on student spending habits from Lloyds TSB, released today.The study found that the stay-at-homes were slightly less numerous than last year, when they made up 31 per cent of the student population.When asked why they were not moving away to study, one third of th...
Read MoreWho would benefit most if interest rates fell to 0%?
As the banking sector continues to hold firm in maintaining and improving profit margins there would appear to be some confusion as to who would benefit most if UK base rates, as expected, fall to around 0%. Many of the UK banks have already come out and stated they will not pass on any more interest-rate reductions to their tracker mortgage customers, which has prompted a controversial debate. Wi...
Read More