Churchill parent, Winterthur, plans to cut 350 jobs as it brings its insurance operations under new management.

The news comes as Winterthur's owner, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), revealed plans to cut up to 1,250 jobs from the overall group in a bid to return to profitability.

A CSFB spokeswoman told Insurancetimes.co.uk that it plans to cut 350 jobs from Churchill's owner, Winterthur. However she added that the jobs would be cut from Winterthur's head office in Switzerland.

CSFB said it was now "cautious" in its outlook for the current year. As a result, CSFB said it plans to slash 900 jobs in its financial services division, which includes its insurance divisions.

CSFB co-chief executive Oswald Gruebel said: "As long as the geopolitical environment is as it is at the moment we will see volatile changes in the quarterly reporting."

CSFB has been forced into the cutbacks after suffering what was reported as "the worst bear market in a generation".

CSFB said it made a net loss of SF950m (£438.8m) in the fourth quarter of 2002, pushing it to a full-year net loss of SF3.3bn (£1.39bn).

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