Aviva distances itself from Irish closure leaks
INSURANCE giant Aviva sought to play down leaked documents suggesting that it could close its network of 26 branches in Ireland with the loss of about 120 more jobs than previously announced.
Aviva last month unveiled plans to dramatically scale back its Irish business and move its European headquarters back to London with the loss of 950 jobs, as the operation’s competitiveness waned.
The Irish press however reported rival proposals suggesting Aviva would go further and close the branch network to rely on broker and online sales only in the country.
The proposals suggested retaining the Irish business as a branch of the UK rather than independently managed, leaving more jobs vulnerable on top of the 120 branch staff if the claims, business development, and executive management teams among others were cut.
Aviva emphasised that no decisions had yet been taken on the business’ future. “Work continues on the feasibility of our options and no decisions have been made,” a spokesman said.
“We are committed to a consultation process and sharing the outcome of our discussions with our employees first.”