Direct Line insurance group wants to cut 2,000 UK jobs as it tries to extend the cost-cutting plan.
The latest threat to a strong workforce of 14,400 comes after the company shed 1,200 jobs in 2012. Employees in finance roles – HR, support, communications – based at Bromley will bear the brunt of the cuts.
The group, which owns the brands Churchill and green flag, has announced that it wants to double the cost savings program, a goal of 100 million pounds unveiled last year. Direct line has stepped up its crackdown on costs from its flotation on the stock market in October, after a split from the Royal Bank of Scotland.
RBS was forced to sell the direct line from the European Commission after saving the taxpayer £ 45bn in 2008.
Direct line said talks with staff were underway, but accused the company Merged to exclude trade unions from the negotiations. No Union has official recognition to direct line, but Unite has several hundred members of the workforce.
"The fact that unite, the Union with the largest number of workers of the country's finance sector, has been refused recognition makes it easier to direct line to announce these savage cuts out of the blue," said Dominic Hook, national officer of unite for finance. "Unite will continue to oppose strongly anti-Union bias where it exists in the finance and will give all possible support to our members in direct line on an individual basis."
The slaughter in direct line follows revelations that the ' big four ' banks, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and HSBC – have cut 189,000 jobs between the start of the financial crisis in 2008 and the end of this year.
Paul Geddes, Chief Executive of Direct Line Group, said: "it is clear that we need to become more efficient to provide good service and value, our customers expect. We have not made these proposed changes with lightness and understand the impact they will have on our people.
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