Aviva, the company that owns Norwich Union, has announced
that up to 7,000 jobs that service UK
business will be offshored
by 2007.
The
UK’s
biggest insurer said 950 jobs will be created in India
resulting in the loss of about 150 jobs in the UK,
mostly through normal staff turnover, redeployment and retraining. The losses
look likely to come in branches in Norwich
and York.
About
760 of the new jobs will be based in India
and will be mainly back-office administration roles, the company said. The remaining
190 financial support roles will be based in Sri
Lanka.
"Offshoring is a well-established
strategy for Aviva which
provides flexibility and efficiency and enables the company to maintain the
quality of service which customers demand," the company said.
A
recent survey by trade union Amicus found almost all (99.9 per cent) of
Norwich Union staff fear further job cuts.
The
union’s Offshoring Survey
was launched to coincide with a massive recruitment drive by Amicus within
Norwich Union.
In
June, Norwich Union announced the loss of 700 staff as part of a cost-cutting
exercise.
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