FINANCIAL services giant Skandia has announced it is to cut another 200 jobs.

Most of the staff to be axed work at the firms UK headquarters in Southampton.

Staff at the offices have today been told the firm is merging its non-Scandinavian operations into a single business - named Old Mutual Wealth - and redundancies will be in areas of overlap.

Skandia said a review has also shown some roles are no longer necessary because “improvements in business processes” have reduced the need for manual work.

The firm said although the majority of jobs being cut are in Southampton, Old Mutual Wealth “remains committed to maintaining a significant presence in the city”.

Chief executive Paul Feeney said: “We know this is difficult time for our staff, so we will make these changes as quickly as we can to give them clarity about the future and to ensure there will be minimal disruption for advisers and our customers.

“The financial services industry is changing significantly as a result of changing customer needs, new regulation and advances in technology.

“We have to change too if we are to continue to be a leading provider of wealth management solutions and a major employer in the area.”

Today’s announcement comes a year after Skandia revealed it was cutting 86 jobs at its Southampton offices.

That move – which saw one in 20 workers at its city headquarters leave the finance company – itself followed the loss of another 150 posts a year earlier.