Zurich Financial Services To Cut 700-900 Jobs In The UK
Hot on the heels of the announcement of a possible 1,800 job cuts by UK rival Aviva, the news of more job losses as Zurich Financial Services is not what the sector or the economy needed to hear. While the numbers are significantly less than those of Aviva, there seems to be a worrying trend starting in the financial sector.
The move was announced as part of an ongoing financial review of the company’s UK operations and the need to make substantial savings. However, what makes this move a little more surprising is the fact that Zurich is one of the rumoured bidders for the UK insurance division of Royal Bank of Scotland which is currently up for auction.
While many in the market had suspected that we would see job loses in the financial sector, the slow trickle of announcements early in the week has started to build up a head of steam. As competitors reduce their cost base and become even more competitive this puts pressure on others to follow suit. This will not be the last of the job cuts in the UK economy let alone the financial sector although how bad it will get very much remains to be seen.
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