Prudential offered little reassurance yesterday to 1000 workers in Scotland whose jobs are at risk as part of a £195m cost-cutting initiative, while admitting the lengthy review of their roles is "unsettling".

The employees, at the life and pensions administration centre at Craigforth, near Stirling, will not learn their fate until October at the earliest, the insurer's annual meeting heard.

Prudential revealed back in March that a further 3000 UK posts could be outsourced as part of a long-awaited restructuring plan in the wake of its decision in 2006 to reject a £17bn takeover bid from close rival Aviva.

At the annual meeting in London yesterday, a trade union representative asked the board for an update, while also alluding to pressure from some investors for a break-up of its businesses.

"If it isn't bad enough not to know if you have a job by Christmas, then even if you do have one, you may not be sure who you'll be working for," he said.

Nick Prettejohn, chief executive, Prudential UK and Europe, responded: "I know from talking to staff that it's an unsettling period, and we will aim to bring it to a close as quickly as we can.

"However, it is a very complicated process involving customer services delivered to eight million policyholders. There are some very difficult decisions (to be made) about where that work is done. We will reach a conclusion by the last quarter of the year."

Some Pru investors have pressured chief executive Mark Tucker to split the group, possibly into three parts - the UK, Asia and US operations - which the insurer has resisted. After a strategic review of its UK arm, the Pru announced in March that it had decided to keep the UK operations as part of the wider group.

Chairman Sir David Clementi reiterated that position yesterday, while leaving the door open to a future change. "The board believes the current composition and structure of the group provide material financial and operational benefits to shareholders," he said.

"At this stage, the management team's focus continues to be on profitable growth in all areas of the business and, in particular, the UK team is absolutely focused on the execution and delivery of the strategy we have outlined.

"As you would expect, the board considers strategy on a regular basis and it will continue to take account of all alternatives to maximise value for shareholders."

Clementi's comments will disappoint those investors who have been pushing for a break-up in a bid to unlock the potential value of the stronger- performing US and Asian businesses and prevent the weaker UK operation from dragging profits down.

Last month Pru posted a 23% drop in UK first-quarter sales, while it saw sales soar by 21% in the US and 34% in Asia.

Shareholders New Star Asset Management and Jupiter Asset Management said they support an eventual break-up of the company.

"The company could get better value for shareholders if there was more of a focus on breaking up some of the component parts of the business, because the share price doesn't reflect their fair value," said Philip Gibbs, a fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management.

Ed Collins, a fund manager at New Star, said there is "undoubtedly" value in splitting the business up and it is just a question of when it happens.

In a research note, however, Cazenove said: "The Pru AGM passed off quietly. If there were any institutional activist shareholders in the audience they did not choose to use this occasion to lobby for a change in strategy."

The brokerage added: "We believe that the board now wants to leave the UK life business to concentrate on operational issues and that the strategic question is closed in the short term in the absence of external intervention."