Axa to shed more than 500 positions

Insurance company Axa has today announced plans to axe 560 jobs in the UK over the next few months.

Around 120 jobs are set to go at its main operations in Ipswich, which has a workforce of around 1,600 and employs staff in sales, claims and administration.

The company also has offices in London, Bolton, Manchester and Birmingham.

Commenting on the job losses, Chief executive Philippe Maso said: “Today, I am announcing important changes in our business which are a necessary step towards profitability.

“We must ensure we are growing the right areas of our business.”

“To do this, we must move away from unsuccessful and unprofitable product lines” and added that “the firm needed to ensure we are in the best shape possible”.

“This will mean a reduction in roles in our business and, although we have taken as much action as possible to reduce costs without impacting roles, some reduction was inevitable.”

“Although I am sad that we had to take such extreme measures, I am utterly convinced they are right to build a stronger and more efficient business for the future,” said Mr Maso.

The French-owned company said it hopes many of the job losses can be achieved through “natural wastage” and redeploying staff.

The Unite union described the job cuts as “disappointing” and said it is meeting with its members over the next few days to discuss the impact of today’s announcement.

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