Lincoln latest insurer to purge employees

Lincoln National Corp. has announced that it will lay off 5% of its employees, or approximately 540 positions, according to published reports. The staff members will be notified of their eliminations this week, spokeswoman Laurel O’Brien told reporters. She did not immediately return a phone call requesting details on which departments would be affected. The Philadelphia-based insurer’s announcement follows news that ING Groep NV of Amsterdam, Netherlands, would slash 7,000 positions and replace Michel Tilmant, the firm’s chief executive. Jan Hommen, formerly the finance chief at Philips Electronics and current chairman at ING, will helm the financial services giant. Heads have been rolling at insurers during the last few months, with Genworth Financial Inc. of Richmond, Va. announcing some 1,000 layoffs at the beginning of the month and The Hartford (Conn.) Financial Services Group Inc. letting go 500 workers in November. Lincoln, feeling the pressure from the slowing economy and hoping to qualify for federal aid, has received the green light from the Office of Thrift Supervision in Washington to become a savings-and-loan company.