The company that paid millions for the naming rights to the new Lansdowne Road stadium is about to lay-off 500 staff at its Irish operations.

Unions met management at insurance giant Aviva Ireland on Wednesday morning after the company confirmed major cost cutting plans for its 2,000 strong workforce.

Employees are angered that the first they heard of the cuts was on television news on Tuesday night. Reports say up to 500 jobs are under threat in the res-structuring, over half of them at offices in Dublin with employees in Cork and Galway also at risk.

Aviva Ireland is to move the holding company for its European headquarters from Dublin to London as part of the plan – after spending a reported $55million on naming rights for the Aviva Stadium.

A spokesman for Aviva confirmed: “The company is considering various options to ensure sustainability and competitiveness in business.

“No final decision has yet been made on the IT restructuring, but a final decision is likely next month.”

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Just three years ago the company, then branded as Hibernian, moved 500 jobs from Ireland to Bangalore in India.

Over 1.2million customers in Ireland currently buy general insurance, life and pensions and health insurance products from Aviva.

Sales in Aviva’s life and pension division fell 17 per cent last year but profits at the health division have been rising despite a 14 per cent rise in charges.

Ireland’s Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, currently in America, admitted things are looking bad on the employment front after the loss of 575 jobs gone in Waterford and 425 jobs lost or at risk at two Dublin companies in recent weeks.

Bruton added: “The IDA has signalled the number of companies coming to Ireland this year is up 25% while projected job losses within IDA-supported businesses are down 50%.”