6 July 2011 Last updated at 08:22 ET

122 jobs going at Zurich Insurance in Cardiff

The firm said the Cardiff redundancies were part of 149 in total

Insurance company Zurich says it is cutting 122 jobs in Cardiff as it restructures its business.

Zurich said it hoped to minimise the impact through redeployment, natural turnover and voluntary redundancy.

The firm said 177 jobs were at risk in Cardiff, of which 122 were definite redundancies.

MP Kevin Brennan said it was "deeply worrying". He urged Zurich to explore all avenues before making any redundancies.

'Minimising impact'

The company's Cardiff base is at Fusion Point on Tresillian Terrace in the city centre.

Zurich director Karl Bedlow said: "We do recognise that these changes mean difficult messages for some of our employees, and we are committed to minimising the impact on people by reducing job numbers through redeployment, natural turnover and voluntary measures wherever possible."

Zurich said there would be an overall reduction of 243 roles, including 149 redundancies, with 78 full-time posts in India going and a further reduction of 59 roles as a result of contracts expiring.

Forty three new posts are being created within the property claims and finance teams in Whiteley, Hampshire.

Mr Brennan said: "This is a deeply worrying development and I fully intend to monitor the situation carefully.

"I hope all possibilities and avenues are explored before anyone is made redundant."