Manulife Layoffs: 250 jobs cut in Wealth and Asset Management Unit

The global wealth and asset management arm of Canada’s largest insurer is scaling back its staffing levels.

According to multiple news outlets, Manulife Investment Management has eliminated 250 jobs — approximately 2.5 per cent of its total workforce.

A spokesperson told Reuters that the layoffs are limited to the company’s offices in Canada, the U.S., Britain, and Asia. It remains unclear if any Canadian employees have been let go.

The reduction comes roughly a month after Desjardins cut around 400 jobs due to the “current economic context.”

At the end of 2022, Manulife had more than 40,000 workers globally, according to its website.

Major layoffs continue

Manulife Investment Management joins the long list of major employers that have pulled out the axe this year.

Big names, including National Bank, RBC, BMO, Canadian Tire, Amazon, PwC, Maersk, Nokia, and Ubisoft, have announced deep job cuts as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

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Termination agreements for Manulife employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Manulife are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance entitlements during mass layoffs
• Rights to severance during a recession

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.