150 city jobs at risk in latest Lloyds cuts

Published on Wednesday 1 July 2009 09:57

AROUND 150 jobs in Edinburgh are understood to be at risk following the latest cuts announced by the Lloyds Banking Group.

The company yesterday revealed it planned to change 2,100 roles in commercial and group operations across the UK.

Many of the positions are being merged to remove duplication, following the takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland by Lloyds, and the company said it expected around 1,100 jobs would be at risk.

The announcement came as the company was warned it may need to sell off Halifax or Bank of Scotland branches to comply with European anti-trust rules – a move which could mean many of the job losses are avoidable.

Neelie Kroes, the European Union's competition commissioner, said that Lloyds would have to make a "viable carve out that won't lead to job cuts", to compensate for the competitive advantage of receiving an estimated 17 billion in government assistance.

If the company were faced with selling Halifax or Bank of Scotland branches, it would force Lloyds to unpick much of the work they are currently doing to integrate the businesses.

The most recent announcement will affect 355 roles in Scotland. Around 90 per cent of the job losses are expected to come at offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the Capital expected to be the hardest hit.

While the company said it could not comment on job losses, it is believed this could mean the loss of 150 jobs in the Capital, the biggest cuts so far announced by the group.

Mark Fisher, director of group operations at Lloyds Banking Group, said: "By bringing the businesses together, we will be better placed for the future. Regrettably however, some of our colleagues will be affected by our plans. We understand that this difficult news will be unsettling and we will be working closely with those colleagues affected."

The company said the changes would see a number of operational support functions being combined. It expects 700 of the role reductions to be achieved through "natural attrition" and the release of contract and agency colleagues.

The group plans to make 1.5bn of savings by 2011, which represents 14 per cent of the group's cost base, and could result in at least 20,000 job losses.

The changes, which affect the group operations and wholesale divisions, will also see 40 new roles created in the Capital as a result of the division's expansion of its centrally based services for corporate and commercial customers.

The Unite union said it was "astonished" at the new job losses.

Rob MacGregor, Unite's national officer, said: "This marks the largest single job loss announcement since the formation of Lloyds Banking Group in January.

"Morale is now truly low as employees across Lloyds are in a permanent state of anxiety as they see their employer announce hundreds of job losses every week."