Great-West Lifeco to slash 1,500 jobs over 2 years

WINNIPEG – Great-West Lifeco is cutting 1,500 jobs over the next two years in response to changing technology and customer expectations.

The Winnipeg-based insurance company said the cuts are equal to 13 per cent of the company’s 12,000 employees across the country.

Around 450 jobs will be slashed in Winnipeg, according to a company spokesperson.

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Some employees will be offered a severance package. The company will also be reducing it’s temporary workforce and offering a voluntary retirement program.

Great-West (TSX:GWO) said the job cuts are part of a transformation of its business as it faces heightened competition.

“These are difficult but necessary decisions that we are not taking lightly,” Paul Mahon, president and CEP  of Great-West Lifeco said in a media release Tuesday.

“To ensure we remain competitive and drive future growth, we are reducing costs and becoming more efficient, while at the same time investing more in customer-focused innovations and service offerings.”

More to come

With files from the Canadian Press