The Australian financial services company AMP is cutting 1,200 jobs in Britain.

The group said this was part of a plan to save �100m ($148m) over the next 18 months.

Its financial services business in the UK consists of AMP Pearl, AMP London Life and AMP NPI.

It also owns Towry Law independent financial advisers.

Combining companies

The group said it would be reducing staff numbers by more than 20% across its sites in Peterborough, Tunbridge Wells, Cardiff, Bristol, Bracknell and London.

Three hundred jobs have already been cut at the company's Cardiff centre.

AMP said it was making the job reductions as part of its strategy to reduce duplication at Pearl, London Life and NPI.

The UK managing director Tom Fraser said that this year approximately 800 jobs would be cut, mainly among office staff in finance, personnel, IT, sales support and customer service.

The remainder would follow in 2003.

Other employment

The cuts were announced to staff on Tuesday morning.

Mr Fraser said: "Wherever possible, redundancies will be kept to a minimum through redeployment and not filling vacancies as people leave."

"Every effort will be made to find alternative employment for those affected, either elsewhere within the company or locally," he added.