Insurer AIG to slash 600 jobs

American International Group Inc. of New York yesterday announced that it would trim 600 positions as one of its subsidiaries merges with 21st Century Insurance Group. Aigdirect.com, the new entity, will be based in Wilmington, Del., and Woodland Hills, Calif. Bruce Marlow, CEO of Woodland Hills, Calif.-based 21st Century, will be the new company’s president and Tony DeSantis, president of AIG Marketing, will be its chief operating officer. Duplicated positions, including callcenter staffers, claims handlers and administrative workers, will be slashed, affecting 11% of the combined workforce. “Combining two separate insurance companies naturally results in some duplications, necessitating these difficult integration decisions, which we are implementing as quickly as possible,” said Robert M. Sandler, AIG’s executive vice president of domestic personal lines, in a statement.