ALLSTATE TO CUT 3,800 JOBS AS PART OF RESTRUCTURING

Allstate Corp., the fourth-largest car insurer in the U.S., plans to cut 3,800 jobs as it accelerates a revamp it started last year. The cuts and related office closures will bring a restructuring charge of about US$290 million, most of which will be recognized this quarter, according to a filing Wednesday. The cuts amount to about eight per cent of the roughly 46,000 employees it had at the end of 2019. Allstate embarked on a plan last year to boost growth at the company's home and auto insurance business, with moves to phase out the Esurance brand and combine several units it had bought into a single operation. In July, the company agreed to buy National General Holdings Corp. for about US$4 billion in its biggest acquisition ever. Allstate's announcement adds to the grim outlook for the U.S. worker.