Norwich Union Life is cutting 1,100 UK staff by the end of the year as it restructures the business.

The firm is slashing its UK life and pensions workforce in an effort to improve efficiency, with the majority of the roles in business change and IT.

Mark Hodges, chief executive at Norwich Union Life, said: “Making decisions that affect our people is always difficult and we are fully committed to doing everything we possibly can to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies.”

Norwich Union intends to axe 1,100 permanent roles by the end of 2009, although the firm is hoping to minimise redundancies through natural turnover and redeployment.

In total, Norwich Union expect around 800 permanent staff will leave the firm, while another 590 contract positions will also be cut.

Trade union Unite criticised the move, claiming the firm is putting shareholders ahead of employees.

Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: “It is unacceptable that once again shareholders received their full dividends, while the workers who brought the company this success are rewarded with job losses.

“The Aviva workforce is continuing to live under constant uncertainty about their future. Unite has been told that these job losses are unrelated to the economic downturn.”

Most of the positions will be lost at Norwich Union’s York office, with 571 staff expected to leave the company. Jobs are also expected to go at the company’s Norwich, Sheffield and Eastleigh sites.