NU job cull spreads to Aviva Investors

At least five members of Aviva Investors' sales team are being made redundant as part of massive job cuts at Norwich Union Life.

A spokesman for the insurer says the latest cuts represent "the detail" behind the 1,390 posts it announced would be lost on 2 April, even though it initially said only IT, business change and contract positions would go.

In September 2008 Aviva Investors became the trading name for a group of asset management businesses owned by Aviva plc under a single management structure and brand.

Earlier this month, Norwich Union, soon to be universally known as Aviva, said the "inevitable" job losses are a result of moves over the last three years to simplify its operations and improve efficiency.

It said it expects a reduction of 1,100 permanent roles by the end of 2009 but added the impact on staff will be "minimised by natural turnover and redeployment", resulting in a potential net loss of 800 individuals. Around 600 contract positions would also go it said.

"We have made significant progress in improving our operational efficiency and are also nearing completion on a series of major change projects," Mark Hodges, chief executive at Norwich Union Life, said at the time.

"Unfortunately, this means a reduction in the number of roles in the business is inevitable. We are fully committed to doing everything we possibly can to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies."

In the UK, Aviva Investors is known as Aviva Investors Global Services and was formed out of the merger of Morley Fund Management and Norwich Union Investment Management in July 2000.

scott.sinclair@incisivemedia.com