Legal and General has started consultation with Unite that could potentially result with the Kingswood office (Surrey) being closed in 2017.
In June, L&G announced it was set to close its headquarters in Kingswood, Surrey as part of wider plans to cut costs across the business.
A L&G spokesperson now told FTAdviser that the lease is up for renewal, and “therefore it is sensible to see if the work cannot be done in our other offices, in a way that could benefit our customers”.
“If that were to happen, then the vast majority of the roles in Kingswood will be transferred to our Hove and Cardiff offices.”
L&G’s Kingswood office is home to more than 1,800 people. As well as housing the company’s pensions and life insurance businesses, compliance, group finance and sales, L&G’s shared services is based in Kingswood, which provides specialist support for all the insurer’s businesses.
In June, a statement explained that in order to remain competitive on cost, the group must optimise the use of locations.
“Our business units across all locations therefore are actively considering their office requirements on an ongoing basis as part of our broader long-term business strategy.
“Some business areas are already in the process of formal consultations about their organisational design and some changes have already taken place. This work will now include the future plans for all of our locations, including Kingswood.”
The group’s latest set of results showed a 60 per cent slump in individual annuity sales over the first three months of the year, compared to the opening quarter of 2014
Last month group chief executive Nigel Wilson stated: “We are constantly developing, evolving and streamlining our business to deliver better value products for customers and better returns for investors.”
He added that a high bar has been set for management actions and performance, including a cost reduction target of £80m this year.
emma.hughes@ft.com
