Direct Line Group's in-house legal team is facing "sizeable" job cuts as part of a cost-cutting plan that will see 2,000 of the insurance business's 14,400 staff made redundant.

Direct Line confirmed company-wide job cuts yesterday (26 June) as part of the next stage of its restructuring and reduction of its cost base, after Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) gave up control of the insurer earlier this year.

A spokesperson said the majority of the cuts would affect employees based in the insurer's head office and support functions, and that the legal team – which falls in the affected divisions – would "definitely be impacted by sizeable cuts".

Direct Line Group's in-house function – which is headed by general counsel Humphrey Tomlinson – numbers around 40 staff, including 27 lawyers, according to Law Society listings.

The company declined to confirm the specific scale of the restructuring in the legal team, adding that the consultation with staff had already begun, and that as part of "further initiatives", another tranche of roles may become redundant.

Separately, a 40-strong Liverpool-based team of fee earners and support staff subcontracted to Direct Line Group by the Parabis Group is also facing job losses. Parabis said it did not expect to make redundancies in the insurance claims-focused team, but that it was considering redeploying staff to other Parabis offices, most likely Manchester.

Last year, Direct Line worked with magic circle duo Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy on its initial public offering, which valued the company at £3bn. The company has also signalled its intention to become an alternative business structure following its split from RBS.