The Unite union has called for an urgent meeting with Resolution to discuss how the investment firm’s £2.75bn takeover of Axa Life will affect the insurance company’s 2,200 staff.
Resolution, which will merge Axa’s UK life, pensions and annuities business with Friends Provident to form Friends Life, said it aimed to cut £75m, or 16%, from the companies combined cost base and conceded there would be job cuts from the joint workforce of around 6,000 staff, although it wouldn’t be drawn on the number of redundancies expected.
Unite is concerned about potential job cuts as well as the impact the takeover will have on Axa’s pension scheme, according to national officer Siobhan Endean.
“As a matter of urgency, it is vital that the new management give the 2,200 staff cast-iron guarantees that their pensions are not in danger,” she said.
“The sale of the Axa life protection business will cause the workforce considerable anxiety as they now have serious concerns about the security of their jobs and the drive by Resolution to reduce costs. The union’s priority is to start a dialogue with Resolution and ensure we protect our members’ jobs and get clarity on the future of their pension provisions.”
