Global insurance heavyweight Generali is reportedly considering plans to slash up to 8,000 jobs worldwide.
Reuters revealed the news late Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The job cuts would be outside Italy, Generali’s home country, according to one of the sources.
Generali, which has a global workforce of 76,000, has yet to comment on the reported job cuts. The company is set to hold an Investor Day this Wednesday.
Swiss newspaper
Le Temps reported that 100 of the potential job cuts will be in Nyon, Switzerland. Generali employs more than 2,000 people in the country, including 340 in the municipality.
According to the newspaper, Generali employees in Nyon were informed of the news on Tuesday morning. The company reportedly confirmed later in the evening the transfer of roles to Adliswil town by 2017.
The reported job cuts would follow the revelation of new Generali CEO Philippe Donnet in June that the company was embarking on a cost-cutting drive.
Speaking to
The Financial Times, Donnet said that he was planning to tell managers to get back to the basics of insurance, which means improving underwriting and cost cutting.
“We’ve made significant moves on the financial turnaround in the past three years… now we need operational turnaround and we have to accelerate the pace,” the publication quoted Donnet as saying.
Earlier this month, Generali reported a 5.6% drop in its nine-month operating profit. The insurer’s earnings before interest and tax from January to September fell to €3.6 billion.
Net profit during the first nine months of 2016 was €1.6 billion, down by 5.9% from the same period last year. Gross written premiums slipped by 2.8% to €52.1 billion.
Despite the lower figures, Generali Group CFO Alberto Minali expressed confidence that the company will be able to meet its 2016 year-end targets. He said the insurer’s capital position “remains at very good levels.”
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