French insurer Axa SA (AXA) Thursday said it will cut 560 positions at its U.K. non-life insurance unit after a strategic review, adding to the swelling ranks of job losses in the U.K. financial services sector.

"I am announcing important changes in our business which are a necessary step towards profitability," Philippe Maso, the chief executive of Axa Insurance, said in a statement.

"Although we have taken as much action as possible to reduce costs without impacting roles, some reduction was inevitable," said Maso, who took charge of the unit in April, 2008.

"No more than half" of the job losses in the coming months will come as redundancies in the U.K., the company said. Axa Insurance outsources some functions to other countries.

The 560 job cuts will come from Axa Insurance U.K.'s total staff of around 3,500. The layoffs in the U.K. follow planned staff reductions by Axa in the U.S. and Australia. "Some subsidiaries are hit harder than others," a spokesman for Axa said.

Data from the Office for National Statistics show that some 33,400 finance-related jobs were cut in the U.K. last year, leaving just close to 1.03 million jobs at end-December.

Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) confirmed Tuesday that it is closing its Cheltenham & Gloucester branch network in November as part of a restructuring plan that will result in the loss of up to 1,660 full-time jobs.

Company Web site: www.axa.com

-By Jethro Mullen, Dow Jones Newswires; 33 1 4017 1738; jethro.mullen@dowjones.com