Hundreds of jobs to go as insurance firm confirms office closure

Insurance firm Ageas has confirmed the closure of its Stoke-on-Trent office, a move which will see around 350 staff lose their jobs.

The call centre in Trentham Lakes will shut as part of Ageas’s reorganisation of its six sites in England.

Staff were informed on Monday, after a 45-day consultation period ended, that the branch would close in June 2020.

The company said that the decision had been affected by the changing way consumers are buying insurance, including a reduction in customers wanting to buy insurance over the phone.

Andy Watson, chief executive officer, said: “It’s with regret that we have decided to close our Stoke office and we know our employees will be disappointed with this news.

“We will do all we can to support our people in securing alternative roles and are working with a number of organisations including local businesses.”

Ageas, which is headquartered in Hampshire, currently has 4,000 people working across the UK.