Cuts at Skandia could create jobs (From This is Hampshire)

Cuts at Skandia could create jobs

10:26am Wednesday 4th November 2009

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More stories about: Skandia

By Gareth Lewis »

FINANCE giant Skandia is to axe 100 UK sales staff, but the Daily Echo understands the job cutting programme could actually create up to 35 posts in Southampton.

The firm is planning to shut nine regional offices and has told 100 sales administration staff based there that their jobs are at risk.

Instead it plans to create a new Adviser Direct Centre at its Southampton headquarters, pictured, which could create dozens of new jobs in the city on top of the 1,800 already employed here.

The structural shake-up, which will be introduced over the coming 12 months, means 80 staff will be working from home with a further 20 working out of the new Southampton centre.

The home-based advisers will be offering support to financial advisers via telephone, e-mail and the internet.

Skandia said the decision was prompted by “improvements in technology”

but also by observations that financial advisers were changing the way they interacted with the company and preferred its remote services.

Relationships with financial advisers are key to Skandia’s business because the company does not sell directly to the general public.

Peter Mann, chief development officer at Skandia, said: “The market is certainly changing but more than that, the way businesses and individuals interact with each other in all walks of life is changing.

“We recognise that we must evolve in line with the needs of financial advisers and believe different types of business will want to interact with Skandia in different ways.

“The changes we have announced today are designed to ensure we continue to provide first-class support to advisers, that matches their needs and gives them choice in how they interact with us.”

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