Zurich SA is cutting its work force by up to 20%
This information was reported in Business Day.
|
Zurich SA, the South African arm of the giant Zurich Financial
Services AG, is reportedly cutting its work force by up to 20%.
The information was reported in Business Day, which cited the Chief Executive
Officer of the unit, Guy Munnoch saying: "These changes are all about
right-sizing, not downsizing."
The plans come in bid to transform Zurich SA to achieve growth aspirations
and improve operations.
Munnoch expressed regret that the planned changes involved getting rid of one
fifth of the group's staff members.
"If we want to be a leader in our chosen markets and create a building block
for future growth, we must take some early decisions and there are none tougher
than those that involve our people," he said.
The final process affecting employees and their future with the group would
be completed by April, said the CEO.
Zurich SA currently employs 1000 people across the country.
The move to cut back on staff comes after Zurich SA performed poorly last
year in terms of financial revenues.
The group expects to make a 1,303c - 1,642c loss per share in the latest
financial year.
Zurich SA, based in Johannesburg, has a network of outlets throughout South
Africa and focuses mainly on short term insurance.
Last year, Zurich Insurance disclosed a loss of back up data that contained
the personal details of millions of its customers in South Africa and in the
United Kingdom.
The tape was lost during a routine transfer within South Africa to a data
storage centre in 2008.
At the time, the company vowed to implement all the necessary steps to ensure
that such incidents would not happen again in the future.
Email
Print
