Zurich, Invesco slash jobs in tough times
One ofthe major trends of this year has continued unabated with Zurich and Invesco becoming the next financial services groups to cut employee numbers in an effort to enact cost saving measures.
Zurich has made 70 employees redundant after a major restructure of the group’s financial services division, announced to staff in mid-October, and will see responsibility for the group’s investment management and life insurance units combined under general manager Peter Delprado.
The group’s head of investment management and life market development, Lester Doecke, is a casualty of the re-organisation. The group’s head of investment management and life operations, Leeann Willson, has also lost her position, but will move to a new role within Zurich.
Head of distribution, Steve Newnham, will be bumped up as a result of the restructure, taking on expanded responsibilities for coordinating sales strategies across the entire organisation.
Zurich chief executive John Butler confirmed last week the restructure was motivated by cost cutting considerations.
The cuts at Zurich have been followed by similar action at Invesco where up to 20 out of a total of about 100 staff have been dropped with the announcment made to the group’s employees last week.
They include the group’s head of investments, Stephen Daley, who left the fund manager last Friday after some 10 years with the group and its predecessor, County Investment Management.
Invesco chief executive Mark Amour, formerly the chief investment officer at the ANZ Bank, will take on the head of investments role on top of his chief executive functions.
The cuts come on top of those at the St George owned Sealcorp, where up to 80 people were made redundant last month, as well as a string of high profile departures stemming from the Westpac Bank’s acquisition of BT and Sagitta Rothschild. More departures are expected at the combined group over coming weeks.
The cuts at Invesco come less than two months since Armour joined the group after the departure of previous chief executive Michael Parsons.
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