Up to 70 jobs are to go at Liberty Insurance who have offices in Dublin and Cavan.
Liberty Insurance said they will realign commercial insurance and back office functions with 70 redundancies anticipated
“Difficult market conditions continue to hamper commercial sector but the company anticipates changes will position it to achieve close to financial break even,” a Liberty Insurance spokesman said.
The company said it is commencing a consultation process with staff that is expected to result in 70 voluntary led redundancies primarily from the company’s commercial and back office functions in its Cavan and Dublin offices.
US giant Liberty Mutual bought Quinn Insurance back in 2011; Quinn insurance employed 2,700 people at it’s height.
The announcement follows a strategic review of the company’s operations which highlighted the need to prioritise higher performing segments.
The strategic review noted the difficulties facing the insurance sector in Ireland, including market volatility, claims increases and excess capacity for commercial liability insurance which continues to drive pricing irrationality.
Challenging
It also highlighted the company’s core motor and household segments have improved over the past twelve months although the market continues to be challenging.
The consultation period with employees from the impacted areas is expected to last for 30 days.
The chief executive of Liberty Insurance Tom McIlduff, said the decision is “unfortunate” but “ reflects the difficulties in the Irish Insurance market.”
“ We need to restructure our commercial division to reflect challenging market conditions. We will continue to be focused on our personal and commercial lines of business, and are committed to our broker and direct channels. Making these changes, while difficult will further enable us to strengthen our long term competitive position in Ireland,” he said.
“ Our priority now is our employees. We will do everything we can to support those impacted by these changes during the consultation period and beyond through career management expertise and career counselling,” he said.
