Manulife HK lays off 1% staff amid reallocation of resources, looks to grow workforce by 15%

Manulife Hong Kong has laid off about 1% of its staff due to readjustment of business development priority and reallocation of resources to support business growth. Meanwhile, it is also looking to grow its workforce by approximately 15% this year.

Damien Green, president and CEO of Manulife Asia told HKEJ that the layoff aims to allow the company to remain agile, and the bottom line is that there is no major restructuring and retrenchment. As customer service, health protection, and mainland visitors business are the company's priority areas of development, the adjustment in Manulife Hong Kong acts as an effort to readjust the priority of business development and allocate resources effectively to support business growth. 

Meanwhile, Green told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that Manulife Hong Kong is looking to increase manpower by 15% to 1,360 and will hire 3,000 insurance agents by the end of this year.

Green also said that Hong Kong business is very important to Manulife that, it accounted for 54% of Manulife Asia's total core earnings and 43% of Manulife Asia's value of new business last year. As the aging population in Hong Kong is believed to drive the demand for retirement and health protection, and the insurance penetration rate in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is only 3%, it shows that there is huge development potential in the city.

Meanwhile, Green pointed out that Manulife has continued to invest in Hong Kong business, even during the pandemic. The number of employees, insurance agents and the size of their offices are growing. Therefore, Manulife will invest more in its Hong Kong business. Green said that Manulife is committed to expanding business development in mainland China and the GBA. The company is preparing to set up a service center in the GBA in the future

Don't miss: Manulife names Patrick Graham as CEO for HK and Macau

Back in October last year, Manulife Hong Kong appointed Patrick Graham as chief executive officer of Manulife. He will be reporting directly to Damien Green, president and CEO of Manulife Asia.

Graham will assume his new role on 1 January 2023, subject to regulatory approval. In his new position, Graham will be overseeing Manulife's business across Hong Kong and Macau. He will also become a member of Manulife's Asia division executive committee and global leadership team.

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