On 3 August 2012 Direct Line Group announced initiatives to achieve £100 million of gross annual cost savings by 2014, including reducing administration costs in central functions and improving marketing efficiency.
Today the Group has announced the first phase of proposed initiatives which include the proposed redundancy of approximately 891 roles.
The first phase includes:
- In Sales, Service and Partnerships (SS&P) – a number of initiatives that will result in reduced costs and improved efficiency. These changes will also mean that significantly fewer consultants are needed to handle calls. As a result we have proposed the closure of our site in Teesside.
- In Commercial – proposals to reduce costs, largely in Head Office.
- In Chief Operating Office (COO) – a reorganisation of IT Application Development and Business Testing functions.
We have begun full consultation with affected employees and their representative bodies. We will continue to consult throughout the process, whilst mitigating the impact of redundancy through redeployment and identifying opportunities with other potential employers. We have first hand experience of successful redeployment and will do our utmost to help affected staff to ensure they have the best advice and assistance in seeking new opportunities.
Paul Geddes, Chief Executive Officer of Direct Line Group, said:
"We have not made these proposals lightly and fully understand the impact this will have on our people. As we have done in the past, we will be open and honest, dealing fairly and carefully with those affected."
Notes to editors:
- We are the UK's only diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
- We help our 25.3 million customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
- We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2025, we paid £31.9 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
- Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
- As at 30 June 2026, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £479 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus was £6.8 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
- For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
- The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our spokespeople images, podcasts, research reports and our news release archive. Sign up to get the latest news from Aviva by email.
- You can follow us on:
- X: www.x.com/avivaplc
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/aviva-plc
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/avivaplc/
- For the latest corporate films from around our business, subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/aviva
