Insurance giant Allianz signals job cuts in AI shift

German insurance giant Allianz signalled on Wednesday looming job cuts due to its adoption of artificial intelligence, with a report saying up to 1,800 roles, mainly in call centres, could be axed.

Allianz Partners, the company’s subsidiary dealing principally with travel insurance, said it was “leveraging AI” to strengthen its position in the industry and improve its services.

Such changes could however “impact positions which are heavily reliant on manual processes today,” it said in a statement.

A spokesperson declined to give further details.

But a report in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said the subsidiary planned to cut between 1,500 and 1,800 jobs in the next 12 to 18 months, citing company sources.

That is up to eight percent of the 22,600 people employed by Allianz Partners, many of whom work in call centres. Jobs will be lost in Germany, France, Spain and Britain, the report said.

Sources close to the company told AFP that discussions with staff representatives are still at an early stage.

Allianz Partners receives about 200,000 calls worldwide every day, many relating to simple matters such as the status of a claim, according to the paper.

In future, many such enquiries will be dealt with by automated AI responses.

The news comes with Allianz in good financial shape — the group earlier this month reported a sharp jump in third-quarter profits and raised its outlook for the year.

Many companies have been announcing job cuts due to the adoption of AI as the boom in the technology gathers pace.