Zurich Insurance to axe 800 jobs to cut costs

“Thank you and goodbye” is what 800 Zurich Insurance staff members will be hearing from their employer. Keystone

Zurich Insurance, Switzerland’s largest insurer, has plans to cut as many as 800 jobs to save about $250 million (CHF220 million) a year by 2015.

Zurich’s plans to remove management layers between the main office and the individual business units will simplify its organisational structure, according to a statement released on Tuesday. Zurich will cut most of the jobs in Switzerland, Britain and Ireland, a company spokeswoman told the Swiss News Agency.

At its Investor Day at the end of last year, the company lowered its profit targets and said it would have restructuring charges of as much as $600 million. The company’s profit for the fourth quarter was below analysts’ estimates because of reorganisation costs.

“We continue to make significant progress towards our strategic goal to make Zurich a focused and more profitable business,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said in the statement. “It will be implemented through a measured process, with employees supported at every stage of the transition.”

Still, Zurich did not give any more information on the exact number of cuts in specific countries because the changes are subject to consultation with employees and their representatives.