Aviva Insurance has issued a statement outlining its plan to reduce staff numbers in Ireland over the next two years. The firm says a total of 950 jobs will go, 180 from Aviva Europe and 770 from Aviva Ireland.
After a review, Aviva has decided to make its Irish business part of a new UK and Ireland region.
It said plans to establish additional centres of excellence in Ireland could mitigate the planned job losses by around 200. The company says it currently employs 1,770 people here and anticipates that number will drop to 1,000-1,200.
It added that those figures include roles which may potentially be outsourced.
Aviva says it will engage with the Central Bank of Ireland in relation to any new structures or outsourcing proposals that it may have.
The chief executive of Aviva Europe, Igal Mayer, said that Aviva must improve its competitiveness in Ireland. He said today's proposals will "deliver a stronger, leaner business".
The company said that as many of the redundancies as possible will be achieved through voluntary means.
Minister for Jobs, Richard Bruton said today he had been in almost daily contact with senior Aviva executives in recent weeks with a view to minimising the impact of today's announcement.
Aviva workers in "state of shock"
Aviva staff belonging to the UNITE union have voted overwhelmingly to ballot for industrial action over the plan to axe 950 jobs. The vote was taken at a briefing by unite officials attended by over 500 staff members.
UNITE said Aviva workers were "in a state of shock" after the announcement.
"The axe has fallen harder and sharper than the worst fears of staff," said UNITE regional officer Brian Gallagher after meeting Dublin staff representatives.
He said UNITE would go into a period of consultation with management, and would be looking for justification of every job that was being cut or transferred. Mr Gallagher also said the union would fight against the plan to combine the UK and Ireland businesses.
Mr Gallagher said Aviva's review had been "unnecessarily hard" on staff, claiming that communication from the company was poor.
Jobs blow for Wicklow
40 jobs are being lost in Rathdrum in County Wicklow. Merck, Sharp & Dohme has announced 40 voluntary redundancies from its workforce of 320 at its facility in the town.
The pharmaceutical company says the plant there is very successful and the job losses are part of a restructuring. The lay-offs will happen next year.
