Legal & General, the British insurance and pensions firm, informed staff on Wednesday that it would eliminate approximately 1,000 roles by the middle of 2027. The reduction represents about one-tenth of the company’s approximately 10,000 employees, most of whom work in the UK. The London-headquartered firm indicated that the job cuts would be the next phase of a strategic transformation initiated by Chief Executive António Simões.
Simões, who took the helm in January 2024 after succeeding longtime CEO Nigel Wilson, has been working to restructure the organization into a leaner operation. The company said the current restructuring plan will initially pursue voluntary redundancies in the UK, though mandatory cuts may be considered depending on uptake. The fund management division, which manages £1.2 trillion in assets, will be excluded from the redundancy program as it operates under its own separate restructuring initiative.
Since his appointment, Simões has implemented significant changes to L&G’s structure. In June 2024, he announced a strategic shift emphasizing the company’s growing pensions business and consolidated the organization’s four operating divisions into three by combining asset management operations. The company divested several non-core assets, including the housebuilder Cala Homes and various legacy land and real estate holdings. Additionally, Simões assembled a new executive leadership team and committed to returning more than £5 billion to shareholders between 2025 and 2027 via dividends and share repurchases.
In communications to employees, Simões explained that different organizational structures and processes developed across L&G over the past decade had created unnecessary complexity. The company maintained that the restructuring would allow it to concentrate resources and investment on areas with the strongest potential for sustainable growth. L&G acknowledged the impact on staff and stated its commitment to supporting employees through the transition while engaging with unions.
The company cited significant growth opportunities in the UK pensions market, noting expectations for approximately £500 billion in transactions over the coming decade as employers shift legacy defined benefit pension plans to insurers. L&G indicated it was also benefiting from favorable trends in workplace pension enrollment, reporting approximately £1 billion in new monthly inflows.
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