More than 200 Acenda employees have been laid off following the merger last year of the MLC Life and Resolution Life Australia operations, according to the Finance Sector Union.

The union says it has “heard reports of further job cuts” in the Australian business after the insurer implemented rounds of retrenchments “without proper consultation”.

A spokesperson for Acenda did not confirm the number of jobs cut but acknowledged moves to a new operational structure had a “real impact” on employees.

“We commenced an extensive and considered consultation process in January that had a very strong focus on supporting people impacted by these changes,” the spokesperson told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“This included offering opportunities for redeployment wherever possible, while providing appropriate transition support and assistance to those leaving the business.”

Acenda was formed last October when MLC Life parent Nippon Life acquired Resolution Life, including its Australasia businesses.

The spokesperson says the new structure will be in place by the second quarter.

“Bringing our businesses together has meant designing a new organisational structure that will enable us to deliver on our strategy and our customer commitments,” they said.

“We recognise this has a real impact on people, which is never easy.”

According to the union, the first round of cuts affected about 85 upper middle management roles, followed by 150 lower middle management jobs. A third round culled more than 50 positions.

“Workers say the cuts have been handled chaotically, with the union only becoming aware of some of the redundancies as staff were being told they had lost their jobs,” the FSU said in a statement.

The union says it has initiated a formal dispute with Acenda over the company’s failure to properly consult workers on major workplace change.

“The union is demanding that Acenda provide transparency on the scale of job cuts and to commit to proper consultation with workers before any further restructuring takes place.”