STANDARD STRIFE
800 face axe as firms announce £1bn merger
MORE than 800 jobs are under threat after a merger was agreed yesterday between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management.
More than 95 per cent of investors at Aberdeen and 98 per cent at Standard Life voted in favour of the deal.
The £11billion merger has created a “superfund” management company called Standard Life Aberdeen.
Completion of the deal between the two firms is expected by mid-August, which will achieve cost savings of £200million a year.
However, about 800 jobs are expected to be lost over a three-year period from a global workforce of 9000.
Scottish Labour’s economy spokesperson Jackie Baillie MSP said: “The financial services sector is one of the most important contributors to the Scottish economy.
“We have consistently punched above our weight in this industry, and if this merger helps continue that success, attracting more investment to the Scottish economy, that is very welcome.
“However, it is vital that the proposed 800 job cuts do not go ahead.” Simon Troughton, chairman of Aberdeen Asset Management, said the result was a “landmark” in the firm’s history. IT WAS revealed yesterday that Scottish engineering firm MB Aerospace have signed a £780million contract to provide flight engine parts for US company Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Techonologies Corporation.