OREANDA-NEWS. June 18, 2015. Aviva has today issued the following statement:

“When we announced the acquisition of Friends Life we said that we would inform our people about any changes which impact them as soon as possible. So today we have updated our people about proposals to focus our operations on a number of core locations in the UK.

“We have previously said that we expect to deliver approximately ?225 million of annual savings by the end of 2017 as a result of the Friends Life acquisition. Savings are expected to come from a number of areas, including simplifying the business and reducing property costs.

“Any role reductions which may occur as a result of Aviva’s integration with Friends Life will form part of the potential reduction of 1,500 roles we announced in January 2015.

“We have confirmed today that Aviva’s core locations in the UK will be Bristol, Norwich, Perth, Sheffield and York. These sites will be supported by a number of specialist and trading sites across the UK*. Aviva’s Group headquarters will remain in London.

“We have also announced that over the next eighteen months we will be closing offices in Salisbury, Stretford and Salford. There will be a reduced presence in Dorking, but it will remain a specialist site for our corporate pensions business. We will also have a reduced presence in Exeter and Manchester city centre.

“We appreciate this is disappointing and difficult news for some of our employees and we are helping our people through this process, providing a range of support and advice, and consulting with employee representative bodies about these changes.

“The changes will happen between now and the end of 2016 and we will look to minimise the impact by offering redeployment opportunities where possible.

“The UK is an attractive insurance market and is critical to Aviva’s success. Today’s announcement is part of our long-term strategy to become more efficient and strengthen our position as the leader in our home market.”

*Footnote:
Specialist / trading sites include: Belfast, Birmingham, Bishopbriggs, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Croydon, Dorking, Exeter, Isle of Man, Eastleigh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Southend and Worthing.