Canada Life lays off 85
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/03/2020 (2094 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Eighty-five employees at Canada Life have been laid off, with the cuts coming in the insurance company’s Winnipeg, Montreal and London, Ont., offices.
The company’s senior vice-president of plan member services indicated the jobs fell within the customer service segment of the company, and said Winnipeg-based 24-7 Intouch Solutions will take on the work previously done in-house.
“Across the organization, we are constantly reviewing how to adapt to shifting customer demographics,” Diane Bezdikian said in a written statement.
“As such, Canada Life has partnered with 24-7… a change which will provide greater flexibility in servicing our customers in both official languages.”
Bezdikian’s statement didn’t specify how many former Canada Life full-time and temporary staff in each city were affected by the announcement.
Last fall, a retooled Canada Life was born out of the amalgamation of three regional insurance powers — the London Life Insurance Co., the Canada Life Assurance Co., and the Great-West Life Assurance Co. Great-West Lifeco Inc., the parent company, acquired London Life in 1997, and Canada Life in 2003.
In November, all former Great-West buildings in Winnipeg were rebranded, and on Jan. 1, the amalgamation officially commenced.
When the change was announced, Canada Life Assurance Co.’s president and CEO Jeff Macoun told the Free Press it would create cost efficiencies and savings, while boosting customer experience.
“Moving forward under one brand will allow speed to market and efficiency,” he said. When asked then whether the streamlining of services might come with a pared-back workforce, Macoun said that wasn’t the intent.
“This is a growth play for us,” he said. “Our success will be a bigger footprint in Canada. We are not doing this to get smaller.”
Canada Life didn’t specify how many of the employees were full-time versus how many were temporary.
Bezdikian wrote, “We value the contributions those employees have made to the business and commit to treating all affected with fairness, dignity and respect, consistent with our company values.”
ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University’s (now Toronto Metropolitan University’s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben.
Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University’s (now Toronto Metropolitan University’s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben.
Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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