Loss-battered Swiss Re announced last week that it has named a new chief operating officer and that it plans to trim more than 1,000 jobs from its global workforce and close some offices.
Last month, the company revealed it had a net loss of $736.3 million for 2008, and it replaced Chairman Peter Forstmoser with Vice Chairman and current Credit Suisse Chairman Walter B. Kielholz.
Effective May, the company said its new COO will be Agostino Galvagni. Mr. Galvagni, an Italian citizen, has been on the Swiss Re Executive Board since September 2005 and is currently head of Insurance & Specialty in Client Markets.
Swiss Re said its job cuts and other steps to increase focus on profitable core business and strengthen its capital position will create cost reductions of CHF 400 million ($352.4 million) by the end of 2010.
The firm, which operates in more than 20 countries, said it will cut its total of 11,560 employees by approximately 10 percent over the next twelve months.
Stefan Lippe, Swiss Re's chief executive officer, said the appointment of Mr. Galvagni, who has “in-depth business and client servicing experience,” will help “to apply best practice in staying client focused while we are accelerating our plan to build a stronger firm.”
The company said it plans to streamline its worldwide office network and operate through offices solely dedicated to servicing clients, and will further consolidate support resources into fewer locations in order to achieve economies of scale.
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