Aon to Cut 3,000 Jobs, Reorganize Company

Aon Corp., the world’s No. 2 insurance broker, said it would cut 3,000 jobs, or 6% of its staff, and take up to $325 million in charges to overhaul operations, as its stock tumbled. Aon also reported a 1% increase in third-quarter profit to $139 million, or 53 cents a share. The results missed analysts’ average profit forecast by a penny, pressuring the insurance broker’s stock price and prompting several Wall Street firms to lower their rating on the shares. The insurance broker is taking charges as it wrestles to digest a string of acquisitions it made in the past five years. Aon’s shares slid $8.31 to $32.31 and were the most active shares on the New York Stock Exchange.