WARWICK – MetLife Inc. plans to merge its Warwick-based car and homeowners’ insurance unit along with its corporate and individual businesses into a single U.S. division, the company announced late yesterday.
MetLife spokesman Christopher Breslin declined to comment on whether the change would result in job cuts or the cost of the restructuring, according to Bloomberg News.
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MetLife posted its first quarterly loss since 2001 this spring and has cut 1,000 jobs since late last year. C. Robert Henrikson, MetLife’s CEO, said last year the company planned to reduce costs by $400 million to deal with slumping revenue.
The reorganization “is part of getting the $400 million in cost savings,” Steven Schwartz, an analyst with Raymond James Financial Inc., told Bloomberg. “This is part of how they’re going to get there and maybe save more.”
MetLife, the largest U.S. life insurer by policies, said the restructuring decision followed a two-year strategic review of its operations. The New York-based company predicted the streamlining “will enhance MetLife’s product design and distribution capabilities, streamline its decision making processes and drive profitable growth.”
The changes will take effect on Aug. 1. MetLife said it expects the integration of the divisions to be completed next year. William J. Mullaney, a former head of the auto and home division in Warwick and the current head of institutional insurance, will oversee the new business.
The auto and home insurance unit in Warwick accounted for 6.2 percent of MetLife’s revenue in 2008, Bloomberg said.
MetLife will report its second-quarter earnings on July 30.
