Allianz will cut nearly 7,500 jobs as part of a restructuring plan designed to boost earnings, Germany's largest insurance group said this morning.
Allianz said the measures would result in some 5,000 job cuts at its German insurance operations.
Allianz said a further 2,480 jobs would be cut at its Dresdner Bank banking unit, most of them in Germany and about half of them in back-office functions.
Allianz shares jumped in early trade and were up 2.32 per cent €122.40 early this morning.
The Munich-based group, which employs about 31,000 full-time staff in its core German insurance operations, said the job cuts would lead to €500 million to €600 million in cost savings at that business from 2008.
Most of the cuts - which represent about 16 per cent of staff at the restructured businesses - would come from reducing Allianz's administrative locations in Germany to 10 from 21.
But the measures would also cause restructuring costs of around €500 million, Allianz added - the bulk of which would be booked in this year's accounts.