A SHANNON-based firm is set to lose more than a quarter of its 300 staff as its parent progresses with an “integration programme” at several locations.
Lloyds Banking Group, which owns the St Andrew’s Group in Shannon (formerly Halifax Insurance), has confirmed plans to axe 200 jobs at different locations across its insurance division and that 80 of those cuts will be at its Shannon operation.
St Andrew’s Group is a leading specialist creditor insurance provider. It manages claims and customer service on behalf of clients such as MBNA, Sainsbury’s Bank and AA Personal Finance.
Last July, the company cut 21 positions after Lloyds confirmed it would no longer be involved in the payment protection insurance market, which was part of the operation in Shannon.
A month later, the company confirmed that one of its third-party contracts had not been renewed and that management was assessing the impact of this development. At the time, it promised to update staff as soon as possible “to minimise any uncertainty.”
Yesterday, St Andrew’s management in Shannon called staff to a meeting where they were informed of the firm’s decision.
It confirmed: “Lloyds Banking Group is today announcing 200 role reductions mainly within its insurance division as part of its ongoing integration programme. Lloyds Banking Group is committed to working through these changes with employees in a careful and sensitive way. All affected employees have been briefed by their line manager.
“The group’s union partners, Accord, LTU and Unite, were consulted prior to this announcement and will continue to be consulted throughout the process.”
The statement added: “The group’s policy is always to use natural turnover and to redeploy people wherever possible to retain their expertise and knowledge within the group.
“By making less use of contractors and agency employees, it reduces the impact on permanent staff. Where it is necessary for employees to leave the company, it will look to achieve this by offering voluntary severance.”