Staff at Aviva have given unanimous approval for a ballot for industrial action after the insurer announced it would halve its workforce in Ireland over the next two and a half years.
The cuts will see 950 redundancies from the Irish division of the company and its European business, which is based in Ireland. The job losses, billed as necessary to make “a stronger, leaner business”, are expected to take effect from next March. The redundancies will involve 770 staff from Aviva Ireland and 180 from Aviva Europe.
Staff at Aviva centres in Dublin, Galway and Cork were briefed on the level of redundancies at a series of morning meetings. The Aviva board met yesterday while representatives from the Unite trade union, which represents about 1,200 of the company’s workers, were also invited to meet human resources staff.
Staff at the insurer this evening gave unanimous approval for a ballot for industrial action.
Aviva said the job losses were agreed in a proposal to merge the Aviva Ireland division with Aviva UK to form a new UK and Ireland region and become the most competitive insurance provider in Ireland.
In a statement, the company said it envisaged a workforce of between 1,000 and 1,200 in Ireland after the cuts. Aviva said some of those staff left may be outsourced. The company said none of its structural changes in the Irish business are not expected to take effect before March 2012.
The company said as many of the job losses as possible would be sought through voluntary redundancies and that it could take up to two years for the new structure to come into effect. It said any new structure and outsourcing would be "appropriately resourced".
Aviva said it hoped the majority of job losses would be voluntary and that the first of the redundancies in the European division would not come before summer or autumn of 2012. The company gave no details of redundancy terms and conditions nor where the cuts would come within its Irish operations.
Aviva Europe chief executive Igal Mayer said costs in Ireland have to be reduced to protect the long-term future of the company. “In Ireland, we must improve our competitiveness to ensure we continue to provide customers with attractive products, good value and excellent service,” he said. “We’re fully committed to keeping customer-facing roles in Ireland and to minimising the impact on our employees."
The company said there is a pressing need to ensure the Irish cost base is at the head of the market to secure its long-term success.
“We appreciate that there will be a period of uncertainty for our people over the next few months as the proposals are explored further, and we’ll make every effort to support them during the consultation period and beyond," Mr Mayer said.
The company has been hit by a spate of management departures over the past year as the insurer reversed its decision to set up a European hub in Ireland, relocating to Britain instead.
Additional reporting: PA
