Insurance staff numbers are not expected to be “drastically affected” by Suncorp’s plan to reduce its workforce by 550, according to company sources.

The group has declined to confirm a report in the Australian Financial Review that the number of full-time employees at Suncorp will fall 4% from 13,500 to 12,950.

However, insuranceNEWS.com.au has established that most of the job cuts are expected to come from within Suncorp’s wider operations, with 19 bank-focused stores and one business centre to be closed.

Plans for the company’s diverse direct insurance operations have not been disclosed, but informed sources say the Vero commercial insurance business will not be severely hit by job cuts.

It is also understood that none of the concept stores set up under the former Marketplace strategy to sell banking, investment and insurance products have been affected by the closures.

A Suncorp spokesman declined to give details when contacted by insuranceNEWS.com.au, but said staff were told last week “about proposed changes”.

“We continue to align our teams under the operating model we announced on July 1,” the spokesman said.

“The new model is designed to deliver on our priorities and ensure we can support the changing needs of our customers through COVID-19.

“[Last] week teams were advised of proposed changes across our business and we are fully committed to consulting with our people and to supporting those impacted.

“We expect a number of new roles to be created, while it’s also likely some people will leave the organisation.”