Birmingham call centre set to survive latest RBS cull

A BIRMINGHAM call centre is set to be spared the axe as The Royal Bank of Scotland carries out a major review of its business services.

The review could cost hundreds of workers their jobs and lead to the closure of several call centre operations, the Mail on Sunday has reported.

The newspaper said around 400 staff in the bank’s business division have been warned of cutbacks at local branches, while it is contracting its call centre operation to just four sites across the UK.

Those at the greatest risk of losing their jobs are thought to be the SME managers who have responsibility for authorising loans of up to £25,000 to small firms. Business managers at call centres responsible for larger firms are also said to be under threat.

The four call centres which will survive the cull are, in addition to Birmingham, Croydon, Edinburgh and Rotherham.

RBS, which is 73% owned by the taxpayer, is the largest provider of accounts to SMEs with more than 20% of the market in England and Wales. The figure for Scotland is almost 40%.

The bank said on a statement to the newspaper that it was making the changes to provide a simpler, more efficient, more customer-focused service based on the changing way its customers looked to interact with the business.