AMP restructures 4 departments amid cost simplification program
Having divested its advice business, AMP is undergoing restructuring in at least four other departments of the business.
In August, the firm announced it would sell its licensee and self-licensed offering Jigsaw to Entireti. Secondly, it sold its minority stake in 16 advice practices to AZ NGA. The firm has been offering financial advice in some form for 175 years.
The first deal with Entireti is for $10.2 million, 70 per cent in cash and 30 per cent in equity, and the second with AZ NGA is for $82.2 million.
The firm has now announced it will undergo a restructuring in its technology, platforms, finance, and legal and governance teams.
It previously announced a restructure of its bank lending division in April 2024, in light of a move into digital banking which would impact 83 people.
A statement from AMP said: “As part of the ongoing simplification of our business we are continuing to refine our operating structure. Where change is being made, we have support in place for those who are affected.”
It did not disclose how many staff could potentially be affected by the restructure.
In its financial results for the first-half of 2024, the firm said there had been a 13 per cent reduction in full-time employees across all business areas which had led to a reduction in employee costs from $170 million to $139 million.
For the second half of the year, it is looking to “right size corporate costs and deliver on business simplification programs. Maintain disciplined capital management, reduce net debt as appropriate, and deliver on $1.1 billion capital management program.”
While the firm said it has support in place, the Finance Sector Union (FSU) noted the firm has been unwilling to agree to a new enterprise agreement (EA) for its staff, including around redundancy payments and notice periods.
A decision by the Fair Work Commission in February found AMP’s EA was inferior to the bank, finance and insurance industry (BFI) award in areas such as casual loading, averaging period for ordinary hours of work, reduced public holiday penalty rates, and vehicle allowance.
While there were superior rates in areas such as weekly hours, paid breaks and travel conditions, the FWC said these were insufficient to outweigh detrimental conditions.
The FWC said: “We take the view that it is likely the relevant employees, viewed as a group, would be better off under the award than they would be under the agreement.”
A statement from the Finance Sector Union (FSU) regarding the planned restructures said: “With constant restricting at AMP, we want to make sure we not only have decent, fair entitlements that protect us, but that management also do the right thing and consult with us when we are affected.
“AMP has refused to negotiate with us for a new EA, which means we are only entitled to the legal bare minimum with no say in our conditions. This is why we need an EA at AMP that protects and strengthens our working conditions, such as redundancy provisions.”
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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