Job fears at Prudential as staffing review launched

Published on Thursday 15 March 2007 11:46

HUNDREDS of Scottish financial sector workers are facing job cuts as insurance giant Prudential announced a major review of the work of 3000 of its staff.

Prudential's 2300 employees at its Craigforth office near Stirling are to be among 2000 UK staff and 1000 workers in Mumbai who are to be scrutinised as Prudential upped its cost savings target by 40 per cent to 195 million.

The firm today said the results of the review would be announced by the end of this year. Its Scottish operation, which was previously part of the Scottish Amicable business, is Prudential's biggest UK unit.

Prudential said around a third of its 5000-strong British workforce would be affected by the review - while almost two thirds of its 1400 staff in India will also come under scrutiny. Nick Prettejohn, chief executive of Prudential UK, said: "We are looking at the work of 3000 people and the importance of the work of those 3000 people we have yet to determine. Whether our cost savings come from more offshoring or more outsourcing we have yet to determine."

The firm, which today unveiled pre-tax profits of 3.07 billion, added that it was pulling out of key pension and savings markets as part of a rescue plan for its home region - and revealed it was also buying Equitable Life's 1.8bn with-profits annuity book. It added that new business had exceeded 1bn for the first time.