News - Friends Provident axes 500 jobs
Life assurer Friends Provident is to cut 500 jobs after closing its direct sales operation. The UK group said around 120 of the jobs to go would be administration roles, while the remainder would be direct sales positions. Friends said it hoped to retain 150 of the staff affected as representatives of the company. The closure of the operation comes ahead of UK-wide regulatory changes to the way investment products are sold. Cost savings Friends said it planned to focus on distributing its products, which include pensions and savings, through financial advisers and appointed representatives. The Surrey-based company said the changes would cost around 17m ($29m) to implement but would bring about annual cost savings of 18m from 2004 onwards. Last month, Friends said it was its distribution structure in Britain. The decision to close its direct sales operation follows similar moves at a number of UK financial services companies. Insurance giant ditched its door-to-door sales approach in 2001, with the loss of 1,400 jobs.
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