Legal and General to reduce workforce by 1,000 roles

Legal and General has announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs by the middle of next year as part of a broader strategy to create a leaner operation. The UK’s largest asset manager informed staff via email on Wednesday that it has begun moves to eliminate 10 per cent of its workforce. While the programme will initially involve voluntary redundancies in the UK, the company stated it has not ruled out mandatory job cuts if voluntary take-up is insufficient.

Chief executive Antonio Simoes explained that over the last decade, different structures and processes have developed across the group, making it more complex than necessary. He stated that to deliver the company’s strategy successfully, the way the business operates must reflect the organisation it is becoming. Simoes emphasised the need to change current working methods to become a leaner organisation, with the target of reducing the size of the group by around 1,000 roles by mid-2027. The fund management division, which oversees 1.2 trillion pounds in assets, is excluded from this specific programme as it has its own restructuring plan.

Simoes has been reducing the company’s size since taking over from former chief executive Nigel Wilson in January 2024. Previously working for Santander and HSBC, he has announced plans to sharpen the pension arm and reduced the group’s four businesses to three by merging asset management divisions. He has also appointed a new executive team and pledged to return more than 5 billion pounds to shareholders between 2025 and 2027 through dividends and share buybacks. An L&G spokesperson described the changes as the next stage of transformation, enabling the company to shift resources towards areas with the strongest opportunities for long-term growth. Shares have risen 11.9 per cent since the start of the year to 293.3 pence per share, though they have underperformed against rivals such as Aviva and the wider market in recent years.