AT least 88 employees of Life of Jamaica (LoJ) will lose their jobs as a result of the merger with Island Life Insurance Company.
A spokesperson at LoJ's communications firm, Marketing and Public Relations Associates, said yesterday that 35 unionised and 53 non-unionised staff members were to be relieved of their jobs, but Island Life was still to finalise its figures.
According to a release from LoJ, in making job selections and terminations, it "took all the necessary steps to ensure that these were done as fairly and transparently as possible and that legal requirements were observed in the process."
The company said the terminated employees would be provided with individual counselling and job placement services.
LoJ recently acquired more than 96 per cent of the issued share capital of Island Life. The two companies have signed an agreement whereby LoJ will carry out the administration of Island Life's business pending regulatory approval of the merger of both companies. The agreement, LoJ said, would reduce the unnecessary and inefficient overlapping of administrative services carried out by the two companies.
Both LoJ and Island Life were acquired by the Barbados Mutual Group of Companies which had said it would combine their administrations for improved efficiency. The new entity will continue under the name Life of Jamaica.
