Legal & General Group plc (LSE: LGEN), the London-listed pensions, insurance and asset management group, sent staff a memo on Wednesday morning outlining plans to cut about 1,000 jobs, roughly 10% of its workforce, through a voluntary redundancy programme to be completed by mid-2027, according to reports.
Shares barely moved on the news. LGEN closed on Wednesday at 294.7p, down 0.64% from the previous close of 296.6p, within a 52-week range of 200.25p to 311.44p. The shares are still up almost 15% so far in 2026, following what the Financial Times described as a couple of years in which the price languished.
Bloomberg first reported the cuts, with the FT confirming a fuller account of the memo. The redundancy scheme excludes Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), L&G’s asset management arm, which is already running its own separate rolling job-cut programme, Project Catalyst. A person close to the process told the FT that compulsory redundancies would follow if the 1,000-job voluntary target is not met by mid-2027.
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The cuts extend the simplification plan Simões set out in 2024 after succeeding Sir Nigel Wilson as chief executive, streamlining the group from four divisions to three and selling non-core assets such as housebuilder Cala Homes. The push coincides with a slowdown in pension risk transfer, deals where insurers take over company pension liabilities and one of L&G’s core profit engines, with the market slowing in the first half of 2026, according to pensions consultancy LCP.
L&G said it recognised the impact on staff.
We recognise and take seriously the impact on colleagues and are committed to supporting our people throughout the process and consulting with our unions.
Legal & General
The muted share reaction suggests markets are reading the cuts as continuity of an existing turnaround strategy rather than a fresh warning. The compulsory-redundancy threshold at mid-2027 is the next point to watch.
