Job Losses At Tokio Millenium Re Bermuda
[Written by Don Burgess]
A number of people in Bermuda have lost their jobs at Tokio Millenium Re.
RenaissanceRe acquired TMR in October 2018 for $1.5 billion.
A spokesperson for RenRe, said in a statement, “Starting this week, we began communicating with employees of Tokio Millennium Re about our intentions regarding personnel once our acquisition closes. In Bermuda, we extended offers of full-time employment or meaningful transitional roles to just over two-thirds of the organisation.”
Bernews has asked how many of the positions offered were full-time and how many were transitional.
The spokesperson told Bernews that TMR had 69 to 70 employees in Bermuda, meaning that it appears that 23 to 24 people found out they lost their jobs this week.
“Additionally, there are a number of open positions at RenaissanceRe available for TMR staff to apply,” the spokesperson said. “We placed a hold on hiring new positions immediately following the announcement of the deal to make available as many roles as possible.”
The RenRe spokesperson added: “Mergers and acquisitions frequently create overlaps in roles and functions, and RenaissanceRe and TMR are both reinsurance-focused organisations. We undertook a thoughtful process to arrive at our personnel decisions, and our analysis has focused on identifying redundancies and planning for the needs of the combined organisation.
“This has only furthered our appreciation of the excellent franchise TMR has built, and everyone at RenaissanceRe is looking forward to welcoming our new colleagues once the transaction closes. Our combined company will be a larger, more diversified global reinsurer with broader reach and extended capacity to serve clients worldwide, while grounded in our Bermuda roots and committed to our island home.”
The spokesperson told Bernews it would be looking at the sponsorship deals it had to decide which ones fit best within RenRe’s corporate giving philosophy but that the TMR triathlon scheduled for April will go on.
She said, “We’re sensitive to the fact that the team at Tokio are very proud of their legacy of giving back to the community, as are RenRe. We are looking at all their sponsorship in the community to see what is what is most appropriate to continue given our own charitable focus.”
A spokesperson for RenRe said the company could not disclose at this time how many of the jobs offered to TMR employees would be temporary transitional positions.
A Government spokesperson said, “The Minister of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports Lovitta Foggo said she is always disheartened to learn of job losses and that the situation at Tokio Millennium Re announced this week, following the company’s recent acquisition by RenaissanceRe Holdings, is no exception.
“As such, Minister Foggo wants to take the opportunity to advise those affected by the redundancies that the Department of Workforce Development is available as an immediate resource and that the following services are available to them:
- Resume critique and development
- Interview skills preparation
- Career guidance
- Sponsorship and funding for retraining
- Assistance with obtaining professional credentials
- Networking
- Job search assistance
“Additionally, the Ministry’s Labour Relations Section offers redundancy support to those seeking such. Should any employees have questions concerning matters such as their compensation package, the Labour Section is equipped to assist.”
Minister Foggo said, “Although this acquisition may create avenues for new job opportunities for some, I remain extremely sympathetic to those experiencing redundancy or career disruption and the anxieties that they and their families might be feeling.”
More job losses in the private sector. Something civil servants don’t have to worry about. No wonder the PLP promotes the Government as the employer of choice (Senator Hayward today). The big question is how will the civil service keep getting paid while the private sector is shrinking? Increased taxes and more debt is an explosive mixture and when it explodes the victims will be Bermudians.
Sounds like you are butthurt. Why did you crow bar the PLP in this they dont control what these companies do. Where was all this vitriol for govt when the OBA was in power and over 2000 ppl lost their jobs? I’ll wait for you lies I mean answer
God you are an idiot. Lmao. Right over your head so here it is spelled out for you government muppets. Without enough private sector workers you WILL NOT BE PAID!!! Get it?! Doubt it cause u love to get shafted by your own. Mercy your government has u hook line and sinker.
I agree the civil service need to feel the pain.
Eventually they will.
how about no one feels the pain why wish pain on others? sounds very demonic you need help
Why? Why do more ppl have to feel this especially the civil service? The disrespect you OBAUBP lot show the civil service is horrible.
The civil service complain about their lack of pay rises etc. All the while their numbers increase while the general population, especially tax payers in the private sector decrease. Remember civil servants are not tax generators, all the do is pay back a portion of what is basically very expensive welfare. There should be less civil servants now to track the reduction in the population. Basic Economics 101, an understanding sadly lacking within the PLP (despite having several ex UBP leaders) and Ministry of Finance.
The civil service is too big. Is sucks too much out of the economy. It’s essentially a welfare program.
And, largely, it sucks too.
The civil service consumes almost 50% of our annual Governmental revenue, leaving little to nothing for social program or infrastructure investments.
The civil servants themselves are not to blame, but rather the vote seeking politicians who made the conscious decision to hire additional public workers.
And some are simply tired of shouldering additional taxes and the ever increasing cost of living in this island to fund the public sector whilst they gay pay rises. It especially irritates people when you see the civil service racking up $10mn+ in sick days on annual basis and the non-accountability that is rife from top to bottom. Look at all the recent scandals revealed when it came to their role of protecting the public purse. Can you name one civil servant who has been reprimanded for things such as double payments and blowing through ministry budgets? No you can’t. But I can show you umpteen articles where petty shop lifters are brought in front of the courts with them having to face the consequences of their actions.
Are you sure that it is only OBAUBP that are fed up with seeing our tax dollars spent on an over sized civil service? I thought that plpubp ppl would feel the same way about waste.
You civil servants deserve ZERO respect because it is specifically YOUR bloated sector that is sinking us the fastest. But go on and keep hiring and giving raises. Lmao. How many government workers hace lost their jobs again? Oh wait…….ZERO!! You r going to feel it trust in that. And there will be nobody to blame but the useless PLP. That is FACT
While sympathetic for all those affected, the shrinking private sector has to take more of the load for a civil service that still costs the same!! All the while healthcare, taxes and the cost of living are rising. When is the gov’t going to act?!?!
This is business not political. It is commonplace for job losses after a large merger. This has been seen many times before locally after mergers & especially when two companies both with large numbers of staff are involved.
Don’t worry guys, fraudulent crypto companies will save us!!
Bermuda is nearly at the bottom of the hill, I’ll give it ten more years!
Does anyone know if the unions are planning a march? I assume since they marched for the non union employees let go at BELCO they will also March for these non union employees at Tokyo. Especially since it’s like 30x MORE people! Ian david Burt going to get involved like he did last time?
Shrinking economy. Just the time to introduce new taxes. I’m sure civil servants are lining up for their annual guaranteed pay raise before they take their 70 days sick leave from their guranteed jobs for life.
Tick tick tick tick
Fewer people to tax… what’s Curtis going to do now? Running out of options…5000 fewer people since 2008….ballooning debt…unaccountable civil service….
Mergers do mean some adjustments band some maybe quite painfus
Mergers usually result in losses , a plus for the big wigs tho. They have worked their way to the top , and severance packages may be quite handsome , but that is something we don’t hear or read about in the newspaper. Certainly want to express our appreciation to all.