450 North West jobs go in Lloyds staff cuts
SOME 450 Lloyds Banking Group staff in the North West are likely to lose their jobs as part of an ongoing restructuring of its backoffice and IT operations following its takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland.
The banking giant, in which the taxpayer still has a 41% stake following a government bail-out in 2008, said that approximately 280 jobs will be lost at an IT centre in Chester, and that a further 170 permanent roles will be affected at its Greater Manchester centre in Wythenshawe.
In total, some 4,500 jobs will be affected by the cuts, including 1,600 permanent and 1,150 temporary and contractor roles in the UK. A further 1,700 offshore contractor jobs are also being cut. Around 600 of the temporary posts will be cut in Yorkshire – 400 in Halifax and 200 in Leeds.
A spokesman for the bank said that it remained committed to the future of the site at Chester, and the bank said that all affected employees were being informed by their line managers yesterday and that unions had already been informed.
It said that it will try to redeploy workers where possible and that compulsory redundancies would be a last resort.
Mark Fisher, director of group operations at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Today marks another major step in bringing our businesses together. The changes we are putting in place will give us a world-class IT operation that will benefit our customers and all our other stakeholders.
“We will work closely with the colleagues affected by today’s announcement to help them through these changes.
Unite the Union’s national officer, Cath Speight, said: “It is an absolute disgrace that Lloyds Banking Group which is being kept alive by the taxpayer is cutting more jobs and moving these jobs out of the UK.
“It is now time for the government step in and demand answers on behalf of taxpayers and staff.
“This bank is racing around the globe in their pursuit of profit. Instead of moving jobs from this country they should wake up and realise the importance of its skilled workforce.”
