Aviva Announces Large Scale Job Cuts
As UK insurance giant Aviva announced job cuts of up to 1,800 due the intended closure of a number of their UK call centres, employers union Unite has entered the fray. Unite is currently at the centre of a number of strike actions throughout the UK and there are concerns that their involvement at such an early stage may well be a precursor to industrial action in the not too distant future.
This latest move is in line with the group plans to streamline the business and remove the reference to 200 year old insurance group Norwich Union. Aviva was formed when CGU and Norwich Union merged in 2000 but nobody ever thought the move would signal the demise of the Norwich Union brand name.
The group claim that by streamlining the business they will be more competitive in the future and able to retain their position at the top of the UK insurance tree. Unions claim that this is the thin end of the wedge and likely to be the first in a series of job cuts throughout Aviva and the industry.
While the call centre closures will be brought in between now at 2010 there are concerns that the impending changes may happen sooner rather than later.
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