Hundreds of jobs at risk as insurance firm plans office closure

Almost 400 jobs could be axed as insurance firm Ageas announced plans to close its Stoke-on-Trent office.

The move, part of a reorganisation of six sites run by the company in England, would see a call centre at a leased office on Trentham Lakes close by June 2020, affecting 388 staff.

Staff will start a 45-day consultation on Monday and it is understood that some employees will be able to relocate.

Ageas said that the decision had been affected by the changing way consumers are buying insurance.

“Customers are increasingly choosing to buy and service policies through digital channels. In addition, we have removed complexity from our business and invested in technology to make us more efficient. These changes in our business mean we have fewer employees, but we retain a substantial amount of workspace and facilities,” the company said.

“Our plan is to reorganise our sites to reflect this changing environment – a course of action we did not take lightly.”

Ageas said it has decided to prioritise the sites it owns in in Eastleigh, Bournemouth and Gloucester, and retain leased offices in London and Manchester.

The company said: “Sadly, our Stoke office doesn’t fit this new plan and therefore we have made the tough decision to start a consultation to close this office at the end of June 2020.”

“This is clearly very difficult news for our employees and our priority is to support them through what we know is an unsettling time.”

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