Aegon confirms 51 jobs being axed

Life and pensions group Aegon yesterday confirmed that 51 posts are being axed as part of its restructuring programme.

The firm said 48 of the positions would be lost from its Edinburgh headquarters, although about 24 staff are being redeployed to other areas of the business.

Aegon's employee benefits division, which closed to new business in May 2009, will lose 42 of the roles, effectively closing down the department, with the remaining job losses coming from the finance department.

A spokeswoman said the restructuring would allow the firm to focus on the group pensions market and the retirement market, when workers use their savings to buy an annuity to pay their pension.

The Dutch insurance giant, which bought Scottish Equitable in 1994, has axed 242 posts in the UK since June, when it unveiled a restructuring programme designed to remove 25 per cent of its operating costs by the end of 2011.

About 600 posts, one-quarter of the workforce, are expected to go from its Edinburgh head office.

Chief operating officer Adrian Grace said yesterday: "We are on track with our restructuring programme, with a number of important decisions made and plans implemented over the past few months.

"The programme will continue during 2011 and we expect further updates on progress in the early part of next year.

"(This] presents opportunity and challenge for the business. I have been impressed with how our people are responding to the challenge."

Brian Linn, general secretary of trade union Aegis, said: "We have worked hard to secure permanent redeployment in customer services for the majority of our members.

"We will continue to push to find as many opportunities as possible for all those remaining at risk to mitigate the number of compulsory redundancies.

"We appreciate that receiving such news at this time of year is particularly difficult for our affected members and we're committed to giving them our full support."