Swiss Re to axe 10% of total workforce

Swiss Re, the world's second-larger reinsurer, said yesterday it planned to shrink costs by cutting about 10 percent of its 11,560 global staff over the next year, sending shares 7 percent higher.

Swiss Re said in February it was targeting 400 million Swiss francs ($349.6 million) of cost cuts by 2010.

Shares traded up 7.2 percent at 20.78 Swiss francs 0945 GMT, slightly outperforming the DJ Stoxx European Insurance index, which was 5.6 percent higher.