Iowa-based Insurance and investment company Transamerica is set to restructure its two major business divisions in 2016 as part of a company-wide reorganization; the move is likely to result in layoffs, a spokesperson said.
Head of corporate communications for Transamerica, Greg Tucker, said that all employees have been informed of the coming changes.
"There will be new jobs created, and there will be certain roles eliminated," Tucker remarked. He also noted that it is far too early to measure the impact of such changes.
Tucker said that Transamerica’s decision to reorganize was not because of financial hardship; rather, it was a part of the company’s five-year plan as proposed by Aegon—the multinational life insurance, pension and asset management company that acquired Transamerica in 1999.
Since its acquisition by Aegon, Transamerica distilled its 14 business divisions into just two: life and protection, and investments and retirement. The current restructuring plans aim to consolidate the divisions further.
Tucker said Transamerica plans to create a universal customer experience. It would involve merging departments that fill very similar roles to avoid redundancy and create more centralized output, such as combining the marketing departments of the life and protection and investments and retirement divisions.
He also said that the move aligns with the company’s consolidation of brands. After it was acquired, Transamerica took great efforts to market its own brand over the other brands Aegon had purchased.
In its most recent fiscal quarter, Aegon posted a net loss of about $571.2 million, which was mostly the result of its $818.7 million book loss on the sale of its Canadian insurance business. Aegon’s shares dropped 22% over the past year, from around $7.64 to $5.89 per share.
