Swiss insurer Helvetia plans to cut jobs and relocate some workers as part of an efficiency program aimed at saving about 200 million francs ($224 million) over the next three years.
The measures will affect around 500 positions, of which close to 250 are in Switzerland, according to Chief Executive Officer Fabian Rupprecht.
“That is near-shoring and jobs completely disappearing, that’s all together,” Rupprecht, who became CEO in October 2023, told Bloomberg. Natural fluctuations and early retirements will play a role in reducing the jobs, he said. The insurance group, founded in 1858, employs around 14,000 people worldwide, according to its website.
An additional number of jobs could be affected in Spain. Helvetia is moving some roles there, but it’s also integrating its Spanish businesses, Caser and Helvetia Seguros. It expects to generate a large part of the 200 million francs in savings from that move. Further savings are expected from AI and new technologies and a greater use of automation.
Rupprecht was speaking after the insurer unveiled its new strategy and 2025-2027 targets at its capital markets day on Thursday. Analysts welcomed an increased dividend with cumulative payments of over 1.2 billion francs, but some were disappointed with lower underlying earnings for 2024.
The stock has declined [last] week, but is still up around 26% year-to-date, on track for the biggest full-year gain in more than 10 years. (Editor’s note: this article was published by Bloomberg on Friday, Dec. 13).
As part of its strategy, which was unveiled under the motto “unleash our potential,” Helvetia said it would focus on expanding its local retail customer business as well as its international specialty lines business.
“In Helvetia we have a good basis,” Rupprecht said. “But we haven’t really optimized the company” in terms of “what we can do and what we can achieve.”
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