Belgian insurance major Ageas has announced that it will shut down its Stoke-on-Trent branch. This is a move that will generate approximately 350 job cuts.

As part of Ageas’s strategy to reorganise its six offices in the UK, the call centre in Trentham Lakes will be closed, reported BBC.

In January this year, the company first confirmed that it will close its Stoke-on-Trent by June 2020 while Port Solent by June 2019. Subsequently, the company launched a 45-day consultation, which is now ended.

The insurer told its affected employees that the office will close its door in June next year.

Ageas, which offers motor, home and travel insurance in the UK, said the decision was taken after less number of people expressed interest to purchase insurance over the phone.

Ageas CEO Andy Watson termed the situation as a “difficult and an unsettling time” for employees.

Watson told BBC: “It’s with regret that we have decided to close our Stoke office and we know our employees will be disappointed with this news.

“We will do all we can to support our people in securing alternative roles and are working with a number of organisations including local businesses.”

In January, the company had said: “Customers are increasingly choosing to buy and service policies through digital channels. In addition, we have removed complexity from our business and invested in technology to make us more efficient. These changes in our business mean we have fewer employees, but we retain a substantial amount of workspace and facilities.

“Our plan is to reorganise our sites to reflect this changing environment – a course of action we did not take lightly. We have decided it makes sense to prioritise the sites that we own in Eastleigh, Bournemouth and Gloucester, and retain leased offices in the major cities of London and Manchester.

“Unfortunately, Port Solent and Stoke do not fit this new plan. Therefore, we are intending to transfer all operations from Port Solent to Eastleigh.”