Pru ships jobs to India in cost-cutting drive

Published on Wednesday 26 April 2006 12:57

INSURANCE giant Prudential today said it was closing offices in London, Bristol and Belfast and shipping up to 700 jobs elsewhere, including Stirling, Derby and Mumbai, in India, as part of a £40 million cost-cutting drive.

Unions immediately vowed to fight the move and threatened the possibility of strike action.

The jobs being moved are in customer service and back office areas of the business.

Britain's second-biggest insurer - which employs 5800 workers in the UK and a further 1115 in India - said no exact figure had been determined on how many posts, mainly in customer service and telephone-based roles, would be transferred to Stirling.

But a spokesman said the approximately 300 jobs that would remain in the UK would be split between Prudential's Craigforth base - where it already employs 2500 staff - and Derby.

Chief executive Nick Prettejohn said the shake-up was to continue the establishment of "core sites".

"These reorganisation proposals are an important step in delivering the cost savings that will enable the UK business to continue to build on the strong positions we have established across the financial services market.

Amicus national officer David Fleming said: "Amicus is prepared to fight these proposals and we will support our members in any action they choose to take."

• Legal & General, Britain's third-biggest insurer said first-quarter UK new business was up 28 per cent to 363m, while worldwide business was up 27 per cent to 390m.