Legal & General has told staff it will remove around 1,000 jobs by the middle of next year, equivalent to roughly 10% of its workforce, as the London‑listed insurer and pensions group pursues further cost reductions under chief executive António Simões.
Reshaping a 10,000‑strong business
The firm, which employs about 10,000 people — most of them in the UK — said the programme will start with voluntary redundancies in the UK, although it will consider mandatory cuts if take‑up is insufficient. The move was described internally as the “next stage” of a transformation that the new chief has run since replacing Nigel Wilson in January 2024.
Legal & General stressed that its fund management arm, which oversees £1.2 trillion of assets, is excluded from the job reductions because it is implementing its own restructuring plan.
What management says and what it means for workers
In an email to employees, Simões said the group had already made progress in simplifying the business and establishing three core units, but that legacy differences in structure and working practices had made the company more complex than necessary.
“Over the past two‑and‑a‑half years, we have made significant progress executing our strategy, simplifying L&G, establishing three core businesses, and creating a more focused business... we need to change how we work today and, through this, become a leaner organisation.”
An L&G spokesperson said the changes would allow the group to focus resources and investment on areas with the strongest opportunities for long‑term growth and that the company would consult with unions and support affected colleagues.
- Initial approach will favour voluntary redundancies in the UK.
- Fund management division (£1.2tn AUM) is exempt from this round of cuts.
- Management has signalled further emphasis on the pensions business and returning capital to shareholders.
Background: trimming to focus on pensions and shareholder returns
Since taking the top job, Simões — a former Santander and HSBC executive — has restructured the group, reducing its divisions from four to three by merging asset management businesses and disposing of so‑called non‑strategic assets, the largest of which was the housebuilder Cala Homes and associated legacy land and real estate. He has also put in place a new executive team and pledged to return more than £5 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks between 2025 and 2027.
The job reductions form part of that wider repositioning: management argues that a leaner organisation will allow the company to reinvest in its growth priorities — above all, its booming pensions arm. For employees, however, the immediate consequence will be heightened uncertainty in workplaces across the group, and potential pressure on pay and promotion prospects for those who remain.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Planned job cuts | 1,000 |
| Total employees (approx.) | 10,000 |
| Fund management assets under management | £1.2tn |
| Shareholder returns pledged (2025–27) | £5bn+ |
Economic and labour market implications
While 1,000 roles at a single employer will not by itself shift national unemployment statistics, the cuts come at a sensitive moment for UK wage growth and household finances. Redundancies in a major financial employer can weaken bargaining power for remaining staff and add to localised pressures on jobs in professional services ecosystems — legal, consultancy and property roles that often sit alongside insurers and asset managers.
For investors, the change signals a continued management preference for capital returns and efficiency, rather than growth through new business lines. For customers, the exclusion of the fund management business suggests continuity in asset management strategy even as the parent group tightens its cost base.
Legal & General’s announcement will be watched closely across the sector. Other insurers and asset managers have also pursued leaner operations amid low single‑digit growth and the need to automate and digitise back‑office functions. How the company balances job cuts, frontline service and its stated investment priorities will determine whether the restructuring delivers the promised gains for shareholders without undermining delivery for pension scheme members and corporate clients.
