More than 600 jobs have been axed at Norwich Union in Worthing.

The jobs will go after the company's parent group Aviva said it would end its insurance operations at The Warren, Warren Road, Broadwater, over the next two years.

It is thought 100 staff could be saved from the chop by moving to a smaller office within Worthing.

The news is a huge blow to the town as Norwich Union is its second largest employer.

Councillor Ann Barlow, deputy leader of the borough council, said: "It's devastating news, a complete shock."

Coun James Doyle, leader of the Lib Dem opposition on Worthing Borough Council, added: "It will be a huge, huge disappointment - and a huge loss to the town. We cannot afford to lose big employers like this."

Worthing West MP Peter Bottomley said: "This is a terrible blow, both for staff and Worthing as a whole.

"If the decision can't be changed I hoped the site will be used for employment and not just housing.

"We have over the past ten years lost more than 1,000 jobs at the Daewoo technical centre, we have seen a reduction of employment at Lloyds Bank Registrars, and Eurotherm has cut jobs.

"We are now at the stage where Worthing has to demonstrate that it can host large employers as well as medium and small ones."

Mr Bottomley criticised Aviva for failing to keep the town's MPs informed of what it was planning.

The cuts are part of a country-wide cull of almost 1,800 posts as the company looks to consolidate its general insurance operations into seven centres at Norwich, Perth, Bishopbriggs, Stretford, Manchester, Leicester and Southend.

The group blamed the move on the fact that, after a number of mergers and acquisitions, its insurance operations had become complex, with too many products, processes, systems and locations.

The company employs 30,000 people in the UK, with around 18,000 staff working in general insurance in 52 towns and cities in the UK.

Norwich Union is the UK's largest general insurer, with a market share of about 15%, and a major provider of life, pensions and investment products.Graham Goddard, Unite deputy general secretary, said: "This news for staff that their jobs are now in jeopardy is truly devastating."

He said union representatives planned to meet management to discuss the changes and ensure that staff were fully supported.Mr Goddard added: "Aviva general insurance is rapidly withdrawing their commitment to local communities and isolating themselves in a small number of cities. The suggestion that employees will be able to relocate appears to be inconceivable for most of those affected.îIt said the number of roles in general insurance would be reduced over the next two years, with the company looking to transfer employees to other locations or to other parts of the business.Aviva expected that this approach, along with normal staff turnover, would mean there would be about 1,500 to 1,800 redundancies by the end of 2010.

Igal Mayer, chief executive of Norwich Union Insurance, said: "We are a very strong business that has grown over the years into a complex organisation. We want to deliver excellent, consistent and reliable customer service with market-leading efficiency."To achieve this we will need to fundamentally simplify our business, consolidating our expertise into seven insurance centres of the future in the UK.

"This is a transformation that will take place over the next two years and will provide our employees with the products, processes and technology to give our customers and business partners excellent service, right the first time, every time."

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