Britain's second-biggest insurance group Prudential unveiled on Wednesday plans to close offices in England and Northern Ireland that would result in the relocation of about 700 jobs, some to India.
Offices in Belfast, London and Bristol, western England, will close as part of an initiative unveiled last year aimed at saving the group 40 million pounds ($71 million) per year.
Unions pledged to fight the job re-locations, raising the threat of strikes.
The jobs will be transferred to Prudential sites in Mumbai and elsewhere in Britain, although the company acknowledged that "some of those employees may choose not to relocate within the company".
Prudential said there would be no compulsory redundancies under the scheme until the end of 2006. It added that the transfer of jobs was expected to take two years.
"These reorganisation proposals are an important step in delivering the cost savings that will enable the UK business to continue to build on the strong positions we have established across the financial services market," Prudential's chief executive for Britain, Nick Prettejohn, said in a statement.
Prudential employs around 5,800 workers in Britain and a further 1,115 at a customer service centre in India.
{{/usCountry}}Prudential employs around 5,800 workers in Britain and a further 1,115 at a customer service centre in India.
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