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Germany's Allianz agrees to labor deal
2006-11-27
German insurer Allianz SE said Friday it had reached a new labor deal that avoids any near-term compulsory layoffs but still foresees some 5,700 jobs cut by the end of 2008. Under the agreement with the ver.di union, Allianz pledged that there would be no compulsory layoffs through 2009, two years longer than originally planned, but that it would go ahead with reducing its work force. Allianz, Europe's largest insurer by premiums, said in June that it would cut 5,000 full-time German insurance jobs on top of the 700 job cuts already announced in February. Some 1,040 of those jobs have already been shed in October, the company said. It was not clear how the rest of the jobs would be cut without layoffs, but Allianz said it would be through "jointly agreed measures." In Germany, job cuts can include natural attrition, early retirement, a switch to part-time work and other measures to avoid outright layoffs. As part of a companywide restructuring, it has also announced plans to cut 2,480 jobs at subsidiary Dresdner Bank by 2008. Allianz said labor representatives and management will start in 2009 to negotiate further restructuring measures. Allianz's German insurance work force numbers about 40,000, while Dresdner Bank has 34,000 employees. Allianz shares were down 2.4 percent to 148.65 euros in afternoon trading in Frankfurt.
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