Job losses at Enniskillen based Liberty Insurance gkfh40
LIBERTY INSURANCE is to cut 270 jobs across Ireland, the company has announced.
20 jobs are to go in Enniskillen, with plans for 210 staff to be ‘transferred’ to a third party company.
The company has said that it is due to market changes and a strategic review of its operating model, and that restructuring is to begin with a ‘voluntary led redundancy process’.
Liberty Insurance announces details of restructuring with the commencement of a voluntary led redundancy process
A spokesman said: “Liberty Insurance, the Irish subsidiary of the Liberty Mutual Insurance Group (LMI), today announced that it is reviewing options to transfer its contact centre in Enniskillen and 210 employees to a third-party company that specialises in customer management, in a move which could potentially lead to further growth opportunities for the centre. Details of these plans will be announced once a preferred partner is agreed and contracts finalised.”
Following this decision and a comprehensive review of its operating model, the company today informed employees that it is commencing a process that will seek 250 voluntary led redundancies in the Republic of Ireland and 20 in Northern Ireland. It is anticipated the redundancies will take effect over the next 18 months.Luis Bonell, President, Liberty International commented: “Liberty Mutual remains fully committed to building a successful business in Ireland. In recent years, we have purchased the remaining minority stake in Liberty Insurance, announced the acquisition of Hughes Insurance and have continued to invest and create jobs in our Liberty IT division in both Dublin and Belfast. In the coming years, we will utilize Liberty’s global expertise and resources to support our businesses in Ireland to enable their development into leading players in their respective markets.”
Tom McIlduff, Chief Executive, Liberty Insurance, said; “We have achieved a lot in our first few years in Ireland, having established a strong brand and grown our distribution network. However, the market is challenging and we have been loss making with an uncompetitive cost base. Withdrawing from the Great Britain market, focusing on Ireland and streamlining our operating model will enable us to strengthen our long term competitive position in Ireland in order to service our customers and brokers better.
“The plans we are announcing today reflect our commitment to retaining a contact centre at Enniskillen. We are examining options to transfer it to a third party operator which would preserve roles and potentially lead to future growth opportunities.”
Following today’s employee briefings, management, employees and the employee representative body will work together during a consultation period which will last for 30 days.
This announcement does not affect the operations of Hughes Insurance Services Limited in Northern Ireland or of other Liberty Mutual Insurance subsidiaries operating in Great Britain.
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