Office jobs under review: Generali and Sunrise to cut 1,158 roles
Generali Germany plans to cut about 800 jobs by the end of 2030 and Sunrise in Switzerland is issuing 358 redundancies; both cite AI as a tool of the overhaul.
On 23 October Generali Germany announced it would cut about 800 of roughly 9,100 jobs, close three offices and invest a nine-figure euro sum in IT, digitalisation and AI. On the same day Sunrise, a Swiss telecoms group, settled on 358 compulsory redundancies after consultation, 92 fewer than the 450 it had been considering in September.
What happened
Both cases hit administration and offices rather than factory floors. According to Börsen-Zeitung, a German financial daily, Generali expects large productivity gains from digitalisation and AI and aims to achieve the cuts through partial retirement, retirement and natural turnover; compulsory redundancies are not planned as things stand. Offices in Aachen, Nuremberg and Stuttgart will close, with teams moving to Cologne, Munich and Karlsruhe. Talks with the group works council have begun. Sunrise employs about 2,900 people and had already cut 147 jobs in February. In September the company named greater use of AI and data-driven automation as tools for its new operating model; the stated goals are lower costs and better customer experience. According to Blick, a Swiss newspaper, IT, marketing and controlling at the Opfikon headquarters are mainly affected, shops and customer service barely. The social plan was improved during consultation with the Syndicom union, chiefly for older staff.
What follows
Assessment: the two firms represent two paths. Generali shrinks by not refilling vacancies, which spares the workforce but narrows entry for school-leavers and graduates. Sunrise dismisses directly. In both cases AI is not the sole reason but one lever alongside cost pressure, property costs and outsourcing. For staff in clerical work, controlling and internal IT, the implication is that demand falls there first as routine tasks are automated. Regions such as Aachen, Nuremberg and Stuttgart lose office jobs, even if, according to Generali, staff can relocate. Neither company has disclosed which tasks will be automated. According to Börsen-Zeitung, Generali also justifies the office closures with lower property costs as hybrid working spreads.
What changes in practice
- Generali staff
- Cuts via partial retirement, retirement and turnover; teams from Aachen, Nuremberg and Stuttgart are to move to Cologne, Munich and Karlsruhe.
- Sunrise staff
- 358 redundancies with an improved social plan, supplemented for the first time by a voluntary exit programme in selected units.
- Job starters
- If vacancies are not refilled, fewer entry-level jobs arise in clerical and administrative work.
What to watch
- Agreement between Generali and the group works council on sites and partial retirement
- Take-up of Sunrise's voluntary exit programme
- Further insurers and telecoms groups in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with similar programmes
Sources
- Börsen-Zeitung: Generali Deutschland baut Stellen ab (23.10.2026)
- trend (APA): Generali streicht 800 Stellen in Deutschland
- IT Reseller: Sunrise streicht 358 Stellen (23.10.2026)
- La Télé (ATS): Sunrise édulcore son projet de restructuration, 358 postes biffés
- Blick: KI-Stellenabbau von Sunrise lässt Belegschaft zittern
- Netzwoche: Sunrise prüft Abbau von bis zu 450 Vollzeitstellen