Anger mounts as hundreds more job losses announced in North West

MPs on both sides of the political divide have criticised the RBS for closing hundreds of branches and axing 800 jobs in the process.

The North West and Greater Manchester has been badly hit by the closures with 61 branches closing in the region.

More than 30 are to shut in Greater Manchester alone and Lancashire is also badly affected.

Ten blanks are to close in Manchester and three in Liverpool.

The decision is another major blow for the region with around 250 jobs expected to be lost when the closures go ahead.

Shop Direct recently announced it is to axe 2,000 roles at its warehouses in Greater Manchester and 450 jobs are being lost in Warrington with the closure of a Marks & Spencer distribution centre.

Labour’s shadow city minister Joshua Reynolds has spoken out about the RBS closures.

He said: “It’s extremely disappointing to see RBS closing yet more branches and putting more jobs at risk.

“These closures and job losses are devastating for RBS staff and the communities they serve.

“Concrete plans must be put in place to ensure vulnerable customers do not suffer as a result.

“Under a Labour government, there would be mandatory consultation around the closure of bank branches which includes the regulator.

“We cannot abandon communities by leaving them without the basic banking infrastructure they need.”

Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, who chairs the Treasury committee, which will question TSB about recent technical failures is also concerned.

She said: “In recent years, retail banks have made decisions to shrink their branch network on the grounds that more people are banking online.

“But branches remain vital for many, particularly vulnerable people and those in rural areas.

“As a result of RBS’ decision, there is a risk of increased levels of financial exclusion.

“It’s important for the Government to monitor this trend. If financial exclusion is increasing, the Government may be required to intervene.”

RBS say the decision to close the branches is because it failed to find a buyer for 300 branches that were earmarked for  sale under the Williams & Glyn brand.

A statement from the bank said: “We are no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a ‘challenger bank’, and we now have two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other; NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, in England and Wales.

“As a result we have had to review our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and we’ve made the difficult decision to close a number of Royal Bank of Scotland branches.

“Customers of Royal Bank of Scotland in England and Wales will be able to use NatWest branches instead for their everyday banking needs.”

Federation of Small Businesses development manager for Greater Manchester and North Cheshire, Robert Downes, said: “This fresh round of closures will hurt high streets all over the North West, but particularly in Greater Manchester, at a time when thousands of small firms are already struggling.

“When a bank branch goes it means less footfall, less cash in the local economy and less revenue for local small firms as a result.

 “If firms can’t easily deposit takings it makes them targets for theft. Many small business owners have built up relationships with branch personnel that go back years – that’s not something that can be replaced by an app.

“This is really disappointing, and to see even flagship branches in Manchester city centre being put to the sword in this latest cull shows the bank’s not thinking about customers, just its own bottom line. In the space of barely a week we’ve had the TSB IT fiasco, and now this. Yet again the banks are making headlines for all the wrong reasons.”

 Rob MacGregor Unite national officer said: “The Williams & Glyn saga rolls on as Royal Bank of Scotland continues with its shambolically poor management of this business.

“How does a taxpayer funded institution spend £1.8bn on a failed IT project and in the next breath demolish the much needed local bank branches?”

Meanwhile the shopworkers union Usdaw has criticised the Government for failing to intervene to support Shop Direct workers.

The issue was raised with the business minister Sam Gyimah in Parliament yesterday by Oldham MP Debbie Abrahams.

Mike Aylward, Usdaw Divisional Officer, said: “Our members at Shop Direct are grateful to Debbie Abrahams and her Labour colleagues for raising their concerns.

“Shop Direct staff are at the forefront of the effects of the introduction of new technology, as they face seeing their Greater Manchester workplace, employing nearly 2,000 workers, move to the East Midlands, employing only 500.

“Our members will have been deeply disappointed to hear the Minister offer little more than warm words. It was clear that he has already thrown in the towel as he focussed on retraining and redundancy support, rather than saving jobs.

“We believe there is a role for the Government to intervene and support the staff facing redundancy. There are questions to be answered about what the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ actually means to working people in the North West.”

Full details of the RBS bank closures can be found here.