WIREDGOV

Commenting on yesterday's announcement of proposed structural changes at Standard Life, John Swinney said:

"This is a very disappointing announcement from Standard Life, and it will be an anxious time for staff and their families. Those affected can be assured that the Scottish Government will do everything we possibly can to help, and we have already been in contact with the company.

"We recognise that the company plans to create 100 new IT posts in Edinburgh and we will want to ensure that Edinburgh and Scotland benefits from these opportunities in full.

"We also understand that around 100 of the posts affected are currently filled by contractors, that approximately 100 jobs will go through natural attrition and that 24 vacancies will no longer be filled.

"I have today spoken with David Nish, Chief Executive of Standard Life, and the Scottish Government has offered the assistance of the Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce, which will work to try to ensure that any further job losses are kept to an absolute minimum following the consultation period.

"If redundancies go ahead, coordination of local response teams under the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative will provide extensive tailored help and support.

"The Scottish Government will continue supporting Scotland's financial services industry in maintaining its real strengths and adapting to change.

"While the global banking sector continues to experience significant change and uncertainty, the industry here in Scotland has seen the emergence of new players like Tesco and Virgin keen to do business and create new jobs in Scotland, and other parts of the industry, for example fund management and insurance, continue to perform extremely well."