East Anglia: Twin blow for workers as Aviva announces plans to axe 2,000 staff and cut redundancy terms

INSURANCE giant Aviva has today announced plans to axe 2,000 jobs from its global workforce.

Staff were told of the cuts this morning ahead of the announcement by new chief executive Mark Wilson.

Aviva said the aim was to cut about 6% of its 32,200 global workforce as part of an ongoing plan to save £400million.

The firm, which employs 6,000 people in Norwich, could not say how many staff or which roles would be affected. However if applied across the board a 6% cut would be around 360 posts in the city.

In a further blow, Aviva also said it was slashing its redundancy terms for UK-based staff.

From May 1 redundancy pay will be capped at 78 weeks, down from the current 104 week cap, and from December payments will halved from fours weeks’ pay for each year of service to two weeks’.

Mr Wilson said in a statement: “I know this is difficult news for our employees but these changes are essential if we are to remain competitive. Aviva needs to become a more efficient and agile organisation to unlock its potential.

“We must take tough decisions on costs to provide our customers with great value products and ensure our future success. I am determined that Aviva gets through this phase of our business transformation as quickly as possible.”