Allianz SE, Europe’s largest insurer, is cutting up to 1,800 jobs from its Allianz Partners travel insurance and assistance division. The reason is refreshingly blunt: generative AI can do those jobs now.
CEO Tomas Kunzmann confirmed the layoffs during an event in Munich on July 8, describing a restructuring that will primarily hit customer service roles across Europe. The cuts represent roughly 7-8% of the division’s workforce, with affected employees being offered severance agreements and early retirement options over the coming months.
AI eats the call center first
The writing was on the wall since at least November 2025, when initial reports estimated the reduction at 1,500 to 1,800 positions. So this isn’t a surprise. It’s a confirmation.
The logic is straightforward. Travel insurance involves a high volume of relatively standardized customer interactions: filing claims for delayed flights, lost luggage, medical reimbursements. These are exactly the kinds of repetitive, language-heavy tasks that generative AI handles well.
