‘Drip drip’ process sees 400 jobs axed from Allstate
Whistle-blower claims US-owned firm ‘has gone from a place filled with inspirational leaders to a structure that is clueless’
By Gary McDonald
February 18, 2025 at 6:00am GMT
Fears are growing of a further “drip drip” tranche of jobs losses at US-owned technology giant Allstate as its Northern Ireland workforce slumps to its lowest level since 2012.
It comes as a former senior team leader at Allstate’s Belfast operation contacted the Irish News claiming the company is “terminating workers’ contracts at a rate just below the mandatory reporting number”.
He says a large percentage of those being targeted are long-term employees with 15-plus years’ tenure, which is stripping a valuable skill set from the company and has currently left morale within Allstate “at an all-time low”.
And the man - who says he left his role in Belfast of his own volition at the end of 2023 after more than 12 years, having being “impacted with mental health issues following the firing of my leader” - has lifted the lid on a number of other issues at the company, which also has a base in Derry.
This includes Allstate forcing some employees to sign a non-disclosure order (NDA) and “resign by mutual consent”, otherwise any proposed leaving package is taken off the table, with the threat that the employee will be subsequently released on just statutory redundancy terms.
He told the Irish News: “Allstate has gone from being a phenomenal place to work, filled with inspirational leaders, to a structure which I would term as clueless.
“I felt obliged to whistle-blow because I care so deeply about my former colleagues, who I see today as being mentally abused.
“We knew something like this was in the offing more than two years ago when Allstate Corporation went headlong into a major restructuring of its operations, including redundancies across all its global divisions in the US, India and Northern Ireland. But they never put a number on it.
“Right now there is a culture of fear among employees, particularly those who’ve been with the company a long time. The leaver numbers just keep growing.”
Scores of staff facing axe as Allstate NI starts restructuring processOpens in new window
Allstate NI making a number of redundancies at its Belfast head officeOpens in new window
IT giant Allstate to leave Strabane building in May - but 'no job losses'Opens in new window
Under company law in Northern Ireland, businesses need only inform the Department of the Economy if it is making 20 or more employees redundant within any 90-day period at a single establishment.
In 2022 overall staff numbers at Allstate NI fell by 80, and in 2023 there was a further reduction of 73, according to Companies House.
Figures for 2024 have not yet been reported, but sources within Allstate indicate that another 80-plus were axed.
Since launching in Northern Ireland in 1999, the workforce at the company - which is part of Illinois-headquartered insurer Allstate Corporation - grew rapidly, and broke through the 2,000 barrier in 2012, peaking at 2,302 in 2019.
But since then, numbers have been on a continuously downwards trajectory and are currently understood to be around the 1,900 mark, which would mean 400-plus staff have departed in just over five years.
Allstate - which currently occupies just three of the six floors at its Belfast headquarters building at Mays Meadow - told the Irish News it adhered to all local laws and regulations, including reporting when employees are impacted by business changes.
A spokesman added: “We’re continually transforming how we work to provide customers the best experience.
“When employees are affected by these changes, we help them find new opportunities at Allstate or provide job placement support with an optional separation package that exceeds required levels.”
Two weeks ago, Allstate Corporation reported that full-year consolidated revenues in 2024 reached $64.11 billion (almost £51 billion), up 12.3% from $57.09 billion (£45.3bn) in 2023.