Norwich Union axes 80 staff in marketing cull
Norwich Union is slashing 80 jobs in its marketing department as part of a restructure.
Its marketing functions for Norwich Union’s life insurance business in Norwich and York will be merged, with some of the 110 marketers in Norwich offered other jobs within the company.
The overall tally of 390 marketers at both locations will be cut to 310. The company is consulting its employees about the move.
Norwich Union has recently rejigged its marketing line-up, with Sally Shire moving from director of brand and communications to director of marketing, and director of marketing Simon Quick becoming director of product strategy. Both report to sales and marketing director Peter Hales. The insurer says it will continue with the restructure its marketing department.
No marketing jobs are being lost at Norwich Union’s general insurance business. Norwich Union recently moved the life insurance and brand advertising into Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, which already handled its general insurance business (MW June 1). AMV has created a new brand campaign which broke this week.
Norwich Union has also announced an escalation of its off-shoring plans. It says it will have moved 7,000 jobs to India and Sri Lanka by 2007. The latest offshoring move has resulted in 150 compulsory redundancies in non-marketing roles.
Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer and is the UK brand of Aviva. The insurer was created following the the merger of Commercial Union and General Accident in 1998 to form CGU and subsequently the merger of CGU and Norwich Union in 2000.
