Standard Life merger with Aberdeen Asset Management to result in 800 job losses

Job cuts are part of achieving annual cost savings of £200m.

Standard Life agreed to a £11.3bn all-share merger with Aberdeen Asset Management in March Getty Images

The merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management will lead to the loss of 800 jobs, it has been confirmed.

Standard Life said nearly 10% of the firms' combined workforce will be cut within three years of their looming merger to create one of the UK's largest fund managers.

The firm also revealed that the combined company will be called Standard Life Aberdeen.

The job cuts are part of achieving annual cost savings of £200m ($259m) so the company can compete with low-cost passive fund managers.

The £11.3bn deal will see Aberdeen shareholders own a third of the combined entity, with Standard Life shareholders owning the rest.

Standard Life chairman Sir Gerry Grimstone will be chairman of the new board, which will be comprised of 16 directors, with Aberdeen chairman Simon Troughton becoming deputy chairman.

Standard Life confirmed that the combined entity will be headquartered in Scotland, although it did not specify whether it would be based in Edinburgh or Aberdeen.

"At our full-year results we restated our ambition to create a world class investment company, and that we would do this by continuing to invest in diversification and growth, while at the same time sharpening our focus on cost discipline and efficiency," Grimstone said in a letter to shareholders on 9 May.

"The proposed transaction accelerates our progress against these objectives."

The 16-man board of the combined company will include eight directors each from Standard Life and Aberdeen.

"The directors on both boards have extensive global experience and have provided effective stewardship to grow each organisation," Grimstone said.

"We have been able to create a diverse board which will have a strong blend of appropriate skills and knowledge."

Standard Life and Aberdeen employ around 9,000 people, with more than 8,000 of those based in Scotland.

The Scottish government has welcomed the merger as a vote of confidence in the country's financial services sector.