Standard Life today says it expects a net headcount reduction of some 500 employees over the next 15 months as it rolls out the second phase of its group restructure.
It will phase out up to 600 existing jobs and create about 100 new posts. The jobs under threat are in its UK and International businesses as well as its Group Corporate Centre.
A sixth of the job reductions will be achieved through natural attrition, it adds, while 24 existing vacancies will not be filled.
Standard Life says it will try to redeploy the remaining employees back in to the business and keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum. It will now enter into a 90-day consultation period with staff.
The changes represent the second phase of what Standard Life calls an ‘organisational re-design' originally announced in June.
It will entail a focus on its core businesses of corporate, retail, investment management and Asian joint ventures and involve a doubling, to about £200m, of investment spend in 2010 in these areas.
Standard Life CEO David Nish says: "As we transform Standard Life to deliver its growth ambitions, there is a need to both invest for future growth and actively manage our costs to be competitive.
"The decision announced today is part of the journey towards being a more adaptable and flexible organisation. Our people will be provided with the support they need while the Group goes through this necessary change."
Nish also reaffirmed Standard Life's commitment to the intermediary market, saying the number of IFA account managers, platform business development managers and implementation managers will increase.
