UP TO 130 Norwich Union jobs are to be shed in Hampshire by parent company Aviva.

Britain's biggest insurer, which employs more than 1,700 people at its two offices in Southampton and Eastleigh, announced yesterday that 2,350 jobs nationwide are to be lost as it shifts work to India in a bid to slash labour and administration costs by 40 per cent.

Aviva, which trades as Norwich Union, said work at the office in Grosvenor Square, Southampton, where 500 people are based, will be transferred by the end of next year to India and Belfast.

That work in Southampton involves processing general insurance claims. An Aviva spokeswoman said no jobs losses would be taking place at the office in Hampshire Corporate Park, Chandler's Ford.

Concerned Southampton Itchen MP John Denham today: "Job losses on this scale will take the gloss off Christmas for many families. I welcome the company's commitment to try to ensure that everyone concerned finds alternative work, but every effort should be made to avoid compulsory redundancies. It is not possible to prevent international companies moving jobs from one country to another, but all companies need to be very careful that customer service and their business do not suffer as a result of chasing the cheapest workforce."

Aviva already employs 1,200 workers in Delhi and Bangalore.

The outsourcing will affect a number of Aviva's business units including Norwich Union Insurance and Norwich Union Central Services.