Lloyds details plans to axe up to 1,000 more jobs

Lloyds Banking Group has announced details of up to 1,000 job cuts as part of its drive to slash costs.

The Lloyds Banking Group flag above the The Mound in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow

The job losses are part of an overall target to slash its workforce by 9,000, announced last October when the group also said it would be shutting 200 branches, while opening 50 more.

Unions said they were pressing for no compulsory redundancies and for staff to be redeployed.

The reductions are in retail, commercial banking, human resources, group products and marketing, consumer finance, risk and finance.

About 150 new jobs will be created in groups including retail.

A statement from the state-backed lender said: “Lloyds Banking Group is committed to working through these changes with employees in a careful and sensitive way. All affected employees have been briefed by their line manager today. The group’s recognised unions were consulted prior to this announcement and will continue to be consulted.

“The group’s policy is always to use natural turnover and to redeploy people wherever possible to retain their expertise and knowledge within the group. Where it is necessary for employees to leave the company, it will look to achieve this by offering voluntary redundancy. Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort.”

Rob MacGregor, national officer of the Unite union, said: “Once again we see Lloyds Bank seeking to make short-term ‘savings’ at the expense of both the workforce and customer service.

“Unite’s overriding concern is to challenge and avoid any compulsory redundancies. Following negotiations the bank has committed to providing alternative jobs, voluntary redundancy and voluntary job swapping where possible.

“We will make sure the bank keep to these commitments, while continuing to consult and support our members.”

Lloyds has shed about 50,000 jobs since its rescue takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in 2008.

The latest cuts were announced the day after the Treasury reiterated its plans in the Autumn Statement to sell about £2 billion of shares in Lloyds to retail investors next spring, backed by a nationwide television, print and digital campaign.

The UK government was left with a 43 per cent stake in Lloyds after its £20.5bn bailout following the group’s takeover of HBOS, but has already cut its holding to just under 10 per cent by selling tranches of shares to institutional investors.

The long-delayed official report into the failure at HBOS last week blamed senior managers and the bank’s board for its collapse.

Up to ten senior HBOS bosses may face being banned from roles in the City and on company boards as regulators said they would look at whether further sanctions could be taken.