285 jobs to go at Liberty Insurance

Published Thursday, 15 November 2012

Liberty Insurance, formerly Quinn Insurance, is to axe 285 jobs across both sides of the Irish border - including 70 redundancies in Enniskillen.

The Headquarters of Liberty Insurance, formerly Quinn Insurance in Cavan Town (© PA)

The company currently employs 500 people at its base in the Co Fermanagh town.

A further 140 job losses are expected at its base at Blanchardstown in Dublin, and 75 more in Cavan Town.

Staff were briefed on the news during meetings on Thursday. Liberty Insurance said it hopes most of the redundancies will be voluntary.

My department and Invest Northern Ireland will continue to work closely with the company moving forward and assist where possible with the future development of the business in Fermanagh
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster

Patrick O'Brien from the company said the volume of the UK business had declined sharply over the past few years.

He continued: "We have achieved much in our first year in the Irish market and during that time have maintained staff levels that reflected the size of the business prior to acquisition whilst we examined the options for market entry into Northern Ireland and GB.

"However, a year after acquiring the business, we have decided to make the right decision to position us for sustainable profitability and to protect in excess of 1,100 jobs remaining.

"We are fully committed to the Irish business, will continue to invest in our business, and believe that our arrival has been positive for the Irish Insurance market and consumers."

Responding to the announcement, DETI Minister Arlene Foster expressed her regret and said she will continue to work with the company going forward.

She said: "Today's news is extremely regrettable, not only for those who will potentially be impacted by the redundancies, but for Fermanagh and the wider economy.

"Having spoken with the company today, I understand that these redundancies are part of Liberty's plans to stabilise the business and set strong foundations for the future. I'm told the decision to enter a consultation period was a difficult one but it follows many months of assessment and close examination of the business to determine the most viable way forward."

Management, employees and the employee representative body will work together during a consultation period which will last for 30 days, following the staff briefings.

Comments

1 Comments

JAE in Fermanagh wrote (185 days ago):

Fermanagh has been abandoned by Stormont.Continually abandoned - by Arlene Fosters DETI, a department which is supposed to advises on and controls financing for tourism, job creation and business investment.You have to ask, why does DETI seem to think that Fermanagh and large parts of Tyrone are “no longer financially viable”? Despite 100s having emigrating from Fermanagh, the dole queues here continue to increase. The chances of a young person getting a job in Fermanagh at present is slim. The chances of a University graduate coming back to Fermanagh for a job is near impossible. There is little or no effort nor investment by DETI to create jobs in the west. Little or no investment to attract new major businesses. Nor encouragement to existing business to expand. As regards businesses we have left in this constituency, not one penny of DETIs finance was spent since 2009 - May 2012 to encourage start-ups, nor anything from the Co-Fund NI despite £2m spent in Peter Robinsons East Belfast. So much for having a lhome-grown enterprise, Trade and Investment minister.