Finance

Finance

World’s biggest reinsurer to axe some 1,000 jobs

02 April 2009 16:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Swiss Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, severely hit by the financial crisis, on Thursday said it would cut around 1,000 jobs worldwide in the next 12 months to trim costs, AFP reported.
"Swiss Re intends to reduce its current global headcount of 11,560 by approximately 10 percent over the next 12 months. Any reductions will be undertaken in compliance with applicable laws and regulations," the group said in a statement.
The group posted a record annual loss of 864 million Swiss francs (585 million euros, 735 million dollars) in 2008, as earnings were hit by investment losses.
Its chief executive officer Jacques Aigrain announced his resignation a week after it posted its earnings in February and was replaced by the group’s deputy and chief operating officer Stefan Lippe.
In Thursday’s statement, Swiss Re said that Agostino Galvagni, who heads the global and large risks division, had been appointed to take over as chief operating officer from May 1.
The Zurich-based group added that it was "accelerating efforts to simplify the organisation and improve operational effectiveness."
"As previously announced, this will lead to running cost reductions of 400 million francs by the end of 2010," it said.
Analyst Stefan Schuermann at Bank Vontobel said the cuts in head count indicated that the reinsurer did not expect revenues to increase.