Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is axeing 3,500 more jobs under plans to more than halve the bank’s administration centres across the UK.
Part-nationalised RBS said yesterday that the job losses would go across back-office and IT functions in the business services arm – coming on top of the division’s 9,000 job cuts announced last year.
The bank, which is 83% owned by the taxpayer, will close 12 of its business services centres across the UK and put three under review. All 15 are in England.
RBS said the latest jobs cull would start next year and run through to the end of 2012.
A spokeswoman could not be specific as to where jobs would go, but she added that the move was expected to lead to a further 150 technology jobs for Scotland.
The latest jobs blow comes a week after RBS revealed that 14 of its 27 offices in the Churchill and Direct Line insurance arm were being axed.
Trade union Unite described the announcement as a “horror story”.
Unite national officer Rob MacGregor said it would be a particularly “bitter pill for staff to swallow” as RBS had decided to move 500 of the jobs offshore to the Far East, India and America.
He said: “The scale of the cuts beggars belief and staff across the country will be left reeling from this news.”
All 3,500 cuts announced will affect the bank’s UK administration workforce. RBS said it had almost completed the 9,000 job losses first revealed last year, of which 4,500 were in the UK.
The business services division previously employed around 45,000 globally.
The centres affected are in Leeds, Bolton, Enfield, Harrogate, Bristol, Borehamwood, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Telford, Bradford and Norwich. The three under review are in Leicester, Southampton and Nottingham.
RBS said around a third of the job cuts come as a direct result of the sale of 318 branches to Santander, which it was ordered to offload by the European Commission.
RBS said: “Having to cut jobs is the most difficult part of our work to rebuild RBS and repay taxpayers for their support.
“We continue to make efficiencies across our business and adjust our plans in line with the divestments we have been required to make by the European Union.”
Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “We understand that the overall impact of this announcement for Scotland in terms of employment is neutral, although we are of course very concerned for RBS employees who may be adversely affected and their families.”
Mr Swinney welcomed news that there were no closures in Scotland.