More jobs cut at Standard Life
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Standard Life is cutting 95 jobs from its UK customer service department as part of the company’s stated aim to reduce costs by £100m by 2012.
Affected staff have now entered into a 30-day consultation period.
A Standard Life spokeswoman says: “In January 2011 the structure of our customer service division was reviewed which has led to greater levels of resource sharing.
“This increased efficiency means we can offer the same high levels of service to our customers, with a reduced number of people.
“We will now enter a period of consultation with our staff association on the proposed changes which will last a minimum of 30 days.”
Standard Life announced in September 2010 that it was cutting up to 500 jobs over 15 months as part of the company’s ongoing restructure. The new job cuts are in addition to these losses.
In July the provider announced plans to cut 39 jobs and create 19 new roles as it continues its reform programme ahead of the RDR.
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Readers' comments (12)
Peter | 8 Nov 2011 11:38 am
This means the service levels will get even worse and the number of mistakes increase heaven help us.
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Anonymous | 8 Nov 2011 11:38 am
What this translates to & really means is:
We know the Industry is *****D so getting numbers down quick as going to be even worse when RDR comes in!
This is just the start of all the thousands we have had already!
I wonder if all these redundancies have been calculated into the FSA figures over the last 6 yrs -answers on a postcard please!
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NJH | 8 Nov 2011 11:51 am
Its a shame, the industry is being decimated. I would like to ask the Govt where they expect those made unemployed over the past few years (and school / university leavers) to find jobs over the years ahead. What a mess!
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Mr Smug | 8 Nov 2011 12:01 pm
I feel sorry for those affected. Standard Life, like many others tried and failed to sell direct to the public in the 1990's. They learned that selling through IFA's was their most effective route to market. The RDR will ruin companies like Standard and many others.
Sadly this is just the start of the job losses.
Regulation is like a disease that slowly destroys its host.
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Andy | 8 Nov 2011 12:02 pm
No Life Office is perfect but the standard of service provided by Standard Life is head and shoulders above that provided by any other and this can only be achieved by a combination of good systems and well trained and motivated staff. It is a crying shame that some of these staff are now facing redundancy and it is difficult to see how this will not impact on service levels. Remember all those life offices who closed their local branches "to improve the service provided to IFAs..............."
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Nick | 8 Nov 2011 12:27 pm
well said Andy.Standard Lifes admin is without doubt on a par with the best. I have heard about the demise of the Ifa for 30 years. We will adapt and survive. Those that dont should have changed there model and seen that £100 a month into a pension simply cant pay £1000 in commission and survive as a product.. The problem is that those that can only afford such a product have been disinfranchised by RDR. This is of course 95% of the population who already save nothing. Nest will be a disaster as herds of people will opt out and prefer to buy today rather than tomorrow.
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Ned Naylor | 8 Nov 2011 12:43 pm
As I have stated in numerous submissions to these blogs and the Treasury Select Committee in the past and will continue to do so until the last person leaves this industry and turns out the lights, the FSA was badly conceived to begin with, a behemoth which has grown into a monster, but the final nail in the coffin of profitable Life Offices, Investment Providers and the IFA sector will no doubt be the unintended (Ooops! ) Intended consequence of the RDR and its across the board draconian changes to methods of remuneration and the deliberate attempt to get older more experienced IFAs out of the industry, bring in the young bucks who will inject an element of enthusiasm in to their sales (oops!) errr "advice processes"
Coupled with Nest and other vehement denunciations of the mis selling of every financial product by the FSAs measure of what is right or wrong and we can only stand and stare at the sheer stupidity of it all,shake our heads and move on with our lives, wherever that path may lead.
We all die anyway, why shouldn't the IFA sector suffer the same fate.
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Anonymous | 8 Nov 2011 2:58 pm
As someone who left the business through redundancy recently, all i can say is i'm glad i got out when i did. The continual cutting of staff has left those who remain demotivated and wondering when their time will come ! It's a very different company now to the great one i worked for (until all the changes started over the last few years) .
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Andy | 8 Nov 2011 3:10 pm
Close to 90 life companies have ceased trading/merged in the uk in the past 14yrs. Once the critical mass is lost there will be less than 10 life companies left and who knows post RDR....might be a "Multi Tie" proposition by default, as there will only be a handful of companies left. It will be like a pack of cards tumbling with the few brave soles left to pick up their ever increasing regulatory tab!
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Anonymous | 8 Nov 2011 4:49 pm
And the FSA will no doubt dish out the Christmas bonus to all and sundry, whilst congratulating themselves on a job well done.
Who is going to be left to pay these bloodsuckers
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