Lloyds Bank restarts 865 redundancies

Lloyds Bank (LLOY.L) has resumed cost cutting measures announcing 865 redundancies.

Britain's biggest domestic lender put a pause on job losses and restructuring at the beginning of the pandemic in a bid to reassure its workforce.

But the bank now plans to axe hundreds of roles mostly from its insurance, wealth, and retail teams as it streamlines the business.

The cuts come alongside the creation of 226 new jobs, meaning headcount will reduce by 639. Lloyds has confirmed no one will leave the company before November.

The redundant employees will be entering a jobs market already under consideration strain with data this week showing 300,000 UK jobs were put at risk of redundancy in June and July.

"Unite is extremely worried about the future prospects of the 860 staff being told that they will lose their jobs during these very challenging times," said Unite national officer Rob MacGregor.

“The pandemic has demonstrated the amazing resilience and flexibility of this workforce. The employer should not focus solely on cutting jobs and costs but instead the bank should invest in a workforce that has only shown loyalty, dedication and hard work through the good times, and the bad,” he added.

Lloyds said it is pushing ahead with the changes which were in place prior to the pandemic.

“Following changes announced today, we can confirm a net reduction of 639 roles. These changes primarily reflect our existing plans to simplify parts of our businesses, which were in place prior to COVID-19,” said a Lloyds spokesperson.

Lloyds shares are moving to the downside in the afternoon trading session: