THOUSANDS of York workers are facing an anxious wait to hear whether their jobs are safe after insurance giant Aviva announced worldwide redundancies.

The company is planning to shed 2,000 jobs from its total workforce of 31,200 – equivalent to six per cent. Aviva was unable to say yesterday how many jobswould be affected in York but it has 2,500 employees in the city and if the cuts were spread equally across all bases, York would lose 150 jobs.

Aviva has also announced it is to reduce the amount of redundancy pay received by employees. Redundant staff currently get four weeks’ pay for each year of service but this payment is to be halved to two weeks’ pay from December 1.

Following consultations with employee forums and the union Unite, the changes will be implemented in two phases, so people losing their jobs in the next six months will still receive the current four weeks redundancy pay.

Mark Wilson, group chief executive officer, said he knew the announcement was difficult news for employees but the changes were essential if Aviva was to remain competitive.

“Aviva needs to become a more efficient and agile organisation to unlock its potential,” he said. “We must take tough decisions on costs to provide our customers with great value products and ensure our future success.

“I am determined that Aviva gets through this phase of our business transformation as quickly as possible.”

A spokeswoman said Aviva was consulting with employee representative bodies and would provide further information to its people on role reductions as soon as the details are available.

York council leader James Alexander said Aviva was a huge employer in the city, and so he was concerned to hear of the job reductions and the impact they might have on York-based staff and their families.

“However, we do understand that firms need to be prepared to respond flexibly to market changes and are standing by ready to assist Aviva in supporting any York staff affected,” he said.

“This announcement serves as a reminder that while York is one of the strongest growing economies in our region, we need to maximise the city’s many assets and push forward those initiatives that will boost York’s economy, create jobs and secure investment into the city.”

A Unite spokesman was unavailable for comment.

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