19/06/2006

Royal & Sun Alliance to cut 1,550 jobs

Insurance firm Royal & Sun Alliance has announced plans to cut 1,550 jobs by June 2008, including 1,000 in the UK.

The job cuts are part of plans to save around £130 million across the group by 2008.

R&SA External Communications Manager Jon Sellors said: "We have set out some pretty ambitious growth targets and key to that is going to be reducing our expenses to make us easier for people to do business with."

Mr Sellors said that it was too early to say where the jobs would be going and said that the firm would be talking with unions about the matter.

He added that over half the jobs are expected to go through natural staff turnover.

Andy Haste, Group CEO of R&SA, said: "We have a clear strategy of running general insurance businesses with strong market positions to deliver sustainable profitable performance.

"The decision to reduce headcount is always a difficult one, but necessary to ensure we remain as competitive as possible and to continue to deliver on our objective of sustainable profitable performance."

(KMcA/SP)

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