STANDARD Life has announced plans to move its design centre to Canada with the loss of 15 Edinburgh-based jobs and the potential for compulsory redundancies.
Chief executive Sandy Crombie informed staff of the decision in an email, seen by the Sunday Herald, on Thursday.
The news came a day after the insurance and pensions company announced that it was shutting its protection business with the potential loss of 50 jobs. A spokeswoman for the group confirmed the move saying analysis had shown that Montreal was the most "cost-effective" place to locate the design centre. She said it would allow the company to save on labour, staff and premises costs.
The design team produces Standard Life's branded communications such as annual reports, presentations and brochures. She declined to say how much the move would save.
The spokeswoman said the company would seek to find alternative roles for the affected employees where possible. The redundancies will be made over the next 18-24 months. Standard Life said in March that it planned to cut an extra 1000 jobs over the next two years in addition to the 4500 jobs that have been shed since the start of 2004 in cost-cutting. The group added that it was looking to reduce costs by £100 million a year.
In the email, Crombie admitted that there had been "a lot of change over recent months" which he appreciated had been "unsettling".
He added: "I strongly believe that the changes we are making will build a dynamic, sustainable, global business for the future."
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