Zurich Insurance to cut nearly 10 percent of staff in Germany

Zurich Insurance Group plans to cut up to 500 jobs from its 5,500-member workforce in Germany over the next two years as it consolidates operations, the Swiss insurer said, confirming German media reports. A company spokesman in Germany said the programme was limited to Germany and sought to cut costs at a time the company was investing 200 million euros ($228 million) to make its operations there more efficient. The aim was to cut jobs without mandatory layoffs, he added.