Lloyds Bank will cut 650 jobs in UK
Lloyds Banking Group has announced 650 job cuts and possibly more.
Lloyds Banking Group is to cut 650 UK jobs and stop using a network of independent agencies, prompting the closure of 265 of them and potentially the loss of hundreds more jobs.
The part-nationalised group said the job losses will largely hit insurance and back-office based staff in Chester and Nottingham, where a site is being shut down.
Lloyds, which is 41% owned by the government, said the closure of the site coupled with other cuts at other locations will result in the net loss of 650 permanent full-time jobs.
The bank has also said it will cease using the Halifax Independent Agency business following a review – with 265 agencies closing in October and November. The independent agencies are operated by third-party businesses and offer a limited banking service.
Independent agencies were developed by many building societies, such as Halifax, to increase their footprint without opening full branches. They are typically located within an estate agent, solicitor or insurance agent’s offices, each usually employing a small number of staff.
Closing these will hit even more workers, who are not employed directly by Lloyds. In total, it is thought that 1,850 jobs would be affected.
Cath Speight, Unite National Officer, said: “The announcement that another 1,850 jobs will be cut from across the Lloyds Banking Group is extremely alarming. The growing tally of 17,700 job losses since the formation of the bank is disgraceful. For staff at Lloyds today marks the start of another long summer of worry as they now face uncertainty about the security of their jobs.”
The group has already cut thousands of jobs and written off billions of pounds in bad debts since swallowing up HBOS (including Halifax) at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.
However, Lloyds also said it had struck a deal to allow Halifax customers to pay in cash and cheques at the 12,000 Post Office branches.
The group has forecast that it would make a profit this year, despite making an operating loss of £6.3bn on bad loans in 2009.
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Sadly I think that many, many more jobs will go from Lloyds. I went to open a business account in November 2008, I asked for an appointment and was told I would be contacted, but almost two weeks later nothing happened. A relative works there and I asked her what the problem was, she gave me a landline number and it transpired that the person I had spoken to, had left and although she took several details from me, apparently none of these were passed on.
Then I went to the appointment at the branch of their choice (quite a distance from me and I don’t drive) There were thirteen people awaiting appointments -mine was with the Branch Manager - I was the last person seen and he was fifteen minutes late. There was no apology but among his initial statements he underlined that there would not be any facility for an overdraft.
Our accountant had recommended Lloyds, so I was willing to give them a chance. I find their queues horrendous and the new system where personnel have no visible security, extremely unnerving.
This week, although inches off ownership of my own property (where I have a great deal of collateral) and in their words, “a wristband one customer” I was completely stonewalled for a new mortgage, for an additional property.
I find it hard to believe (as reported in the media) that there is an increase in mortgages granted, as unless you meet their necessary criteria to the millimetre, you are not entertained.
We have gone from a Country that used to almost allow “the don’t work, won’t works” and winos, mortgages, to one where you have to be related to royalty, work for the government, or local council, and have to rate in the uppermost bracket of the big brother credit rating system to be considered.
I think they have very short memories - as a taxpayer of 40 years, I am one of their 41% “owners”.
August 26th, 2010 at 8:26 pm