New Delhi — British insurance and pensions group Legal & General Group Plc plans to cut about 1,000 jobs by mid-2027, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as Chief Executive Antonio Simoes moves to simplify the company and improve efficiency, according to a report.
The Guardian reported that employees were told Wednesday that the company had begun the process of eliminating about 1,000 positions. Most of Legal & General’s roughly 10,000 employees are based in the United Kingdom.
The first phase of the restructuring is expected to focus on voluntary redundancies, although compulsory layoffs could follow depending on employee participation, the report said.
Legal & General said the move is the next stage of its transformation under Simoes, who became chief executive in January 2024.
The company’s fund management business, which oversees about £1.2 trillion in assets, is not included in the latest round of cuts because it is already undergoing a separate restructuring program.
Since taking over as CEO, Simoes has moved to streamline Legal & General’s operations and focus the company on its core businesses. In June 2024, he announced a renewed emphasis on pensions and reduced the group’s four operating divisions to three by combining its asset management businesses.
The company has also sold several assets considered non-strategic, including homebuilder Cala Homes, along with legacy land and real estate holdings.
Simoes has also created a new executive leadership team and pledged to return more than £5 billion to shareholders between 2025 and 2027 through dividends and share buybacks.
In an email to employees, Simoes said the company had made significant progress in simplifying the group and establishing three core businesses. He said, however, that different structures, processes and working practices had developed over the past decade, making the organization more complex than necessary.
Simoes said Legal & General now needs to change how it operates and become a leaner organization.
A company spokesperson said the restructuring would allow Legal & General to focus its resources and investment on areas offering the strongest opportunities for long-term growth. (Source: IANS)
