Firms explain local job losses

FRIDAY, JAN. 20: A long-established offshore firm is to pull out of Bermuda by June with the loss of 11 jobs, its managing director confirmed today.

And a total of 20 staff will go at a BNY Mellon — an asset management company with an office on Front Street — with 12 Bermudians affected.

Jupiter Asset Management is to close its Bermuda office due to a drop in business, putting eight Bermudians and three staff from overseas out of a job.

But managing director Garth Lorimer Turner said the UK-based firm would continue to do business in Bermuda — and said every effort would be made to assist staff to find new posts, including considering them for any positions which might become available at the company HQ in London.

Mr Lorimer Turner told the Bermuda Sun today: “It will be a rolling period of redundancies through to the end of June. It’s unfortunate and upsetting, but the decision has been taken purely for commercial reasons and Jupiter’s long-term corporate objectives.

“It’s fundamentally a UK business — the decision wasn’t taken because Jupiter is in any way fed up with Bermuda regulations or anything like that.

“Although the office is closing, the corporate identity will remain and I’m hoping there will be a reasonable amount of Jupiter business utilizing Bermuda.

“It’s simply that the volume of business isn’t big enough to warrant maintaining a full office here.

“Bermuda has been pretty good to Jupiter and Jupiter has been pretty good to Bermuda in terms of sponsorship and things like that.”

Jupiter, based in Hamilton’s Victoria Street, opened in Bermuda more than 40 years ago and became part of the Jupiter Group just over a decade ago.

The firm, headed by Edward Bonham Carter — the brother of award-winning British actress Helena Bonham Carter — closed offices in Hong Kong and Jersey some years ago.

Mr Lorimer Turner said one Bermudian member of staff was on secondment to London and that it was likely she will be offered a post there.

He added that the firm would bring in an employment adviser to assist Bermuda staff in finding new jobs.

Mr Lorimer Turner said: “A lot of people have been here for many years and we’re doing what we can to help them.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for BNY Mellon said that 39 staff would remain at the firm’s Front Street office in Hamilton.

He said the move had been made after the company acquired a global investment services business two years ago, meaning that some accounting roles could be handled from its new office in Orlando, Florida.

The spokesman told the Bermuda Sun today: “We are not closing our office in Bermuda — the 39 who remain will support investor services and corporate secretarial functions.

“Right now, there are no plans to relocate staff to Orlando, but we may review that. Affected staff will be encouraged to look at other options within BNY Mellon and others may be eligible for severance pay under the Bermuda employment code.”