Legal & General Group Plc has begun a workforce review that targets a reduction of about a tenth, with a plan now underway to remove around 1,000 positions by the middle of next year. Staff were informed in an email sent Wednesday. The company is based in London and most of its roughly 10,000 employees are in the UK.
In the UK, departures will start with a voluntary scheme. If not enough people opt in, the company may move to compulsory layoffs, according to someone with knowledge of the plan.
The asset management business, which manages £1.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion), is not part of the voluntary program because it already has its own restructuring in progress, the person said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal details.
A spokesperson said by email, "These changes represent the next stage" in the transformation of the company, "ensuring that our organization and ways of working reflect the business we are now building and the rapidly changing environment in which we operate." The spokesperson added, "They will also help us focus our resources and investment on the areas where we see the strongest opportunities for long-term growth."
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Since taking over in 2024, Simões has been streamlining: combining L&G's asset management units, exiting non‑core holdings such as homebuilder Cala Group, and installing a new top team. He has also promised to deliver in excess of £5 billion for shareholders over 2025 to 2027.
In a Wednesday memo, Simões wrote, "Over the last decade, different structures, processes and ways of working have developed across L&G, making us more complex than we need to be." He added, "To deliver our strategy successfully, we now need to make sure the way we work reflects the business we are becoming."
In August, the company lifted its outlook for earnings per share growth this year, helped by stronger results in asset management, and first half fee income rose 37%. Shares are up about 13% year to date, ahead of the Stoxx 600 insurance index, and that climb makes up the bulk of the roughly 18% increase since Simões started in early 2024. The rally has tightened L&G's dividend yield at a moment when higher bond yields have some investors looking for a bigger premium to own the stock. Bloomberg data show the number of analysts rating the shares a sell has tripled to 12 this year.
L&G's largest line of business is institutional retirement, centered on pension risk transfers where employers pay insurers to take on retiree obligations. With competition and regulatory barriers rising, Simões is targeting market share in the broader UK retirement savings market, which is growing quickly even if margins are thinner. For everyday investors, the story here is a company trying to simplify, free up cash, and refocus on growth areas while promising sizable payouts from 2025 to 2027. That mix can shift the balance between income appeal and growth potential in your portfolio watchlist.
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