Building society makes job cuts and closes branches

BARROW-based Furness Building Society based in Barrow is cutting a total of 12 jobs and closing two branches.

The society said four people will be made redundant at the Barrow headquarters in Duke Street and a further eight jobs will be lost after a decision was taken to close branches in Castle Street in Liverpool and Knowsley Street in Bolton.

The society, which employs a total of 180 people and has around 60,000 customers is undergoing what has been described as a “reshaping”.

Chief executive Mike Kirsch said the company took “no pleasure” in making jobs redundant.

He told the North West Evening Mail: “We need to change; we can’t just add in cost, we need to reshape ourselves. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens and some skills aren’t easily transferable so we anticipate one or two people will leave the organisation.”

Kirsch added that the closure of the Liverpool and Bolton branches was a decision taken to allow the building society to focus on its core geographical area and in response to reduced footfall.

He said: “Our brand means less there and they have the furthest branch and are a bit more difficult for us to run. We are determined to be a successful independent building society but we have to change with the times.

“We need to make sure we have the right skills and resource levels here to make sure we are successful going forward.”

The final date of trading for the Liverpool and Bolton branches will be December 9.

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