KiwiSaver provider AMP to ditch offices in Auckland and Wellington CBDs

AMP Wealth Management is to exit its offices in Auckland and Wellington CBDs. Photo/file

KiwiSaver provider AMP Wealth Management is to ditch its Auckland and Wellington central business district office spaces as it moves to a fully flexible working model.

AMP has around 350 staff based in its Auckland and Wellington offices and occupies about two and a half floors of the AMP building on the corner of Albert St and Custom St in Auckland in the AMP building.

In Wellington, it has one floor of office space in the Spark building in Willis St.

Blair Vernon, AMP Wealth Management New Zealand chief executive, said the move followed its successful use of flexible working during the Covid-19 crisis and feedback from employees who did not want to return to traditional ways of working.

"We have been working towards creating a truly flexible work model for a couple of years, so we're seizing the opportunities and learnings over the last couple of months to accelerate our plans."

A survey of its staff found 70 per cent of workers preferred a combination of working from home and the office, while 22 per cent said they wanted to work primarily from home.

Just 8 per cent said they wanted to work from the office all the time.

"The idea that you can only be productive or do work if you're in an office has long been the source of endless debates, but as we've seen through Covid-19, the reality is that your place of work can literally almost be anywhere. Whether that's an office building or your spare room with the right setup and technology enablement," Vernon said.

The company would move into small meeting-based premises outside the Auckland and Wellington CBDs and its office spaces would be smaller as employees spent less time working in the office.

"This will also enable us to continue to respond to the needs of our clients and support them in a range of ways, from face-to-face, over the phone, in their workplace, and online."

Vernon said the reduction in office space and travel requirements would also support its sustainability targets.