Insurer Aviva has said it is to close 15 of its 22 call centres in the UK by 2010, costing 1,800 jobs.

The firm said that the move was "rationalisation" but the Unite union described the job cuts as brutal.

"This news for staff that their jobs are now in jeopardy is truly devastating," the union said.

Earlier this year the firm announced it was ditching the 200-year-old Norwich Union brand to forge a single identity to compete in international markets.

Aviva was formed from the merger of Norwich Union and CGU in 2000.

It provides savings, investments and insurance products.

(BBC)

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