BANKING giant Lloyds will axe a further 4,500 jobs and move work abroad, it has been revealed.
Lloyds Banking Group said 1,600 permanent roles will be affected across the UK while 1,150 temporary and contract staff will be ‘released’ and a further 1,750 offshore contractor jobs will go.
Union leaders called the move “an absolute disgrace” and “a devastating blow” following the loss of thousands of jobs at the group last year.
The part-nationalised bank, which plans to close the Meltham branch of Lloyds TSB on November 26, said it was committed to working through the job cuts with employees “carefully and sensitively”.
It also has two large branches in Huddersfield town centre and small branches in Brighouse, Milnsbridge and Slaithwaite. The cuts – part of plans to restructure IT operations – would be achieved by not replacing leavers and re-deploying people wherever possible to retain their expertise and knowledge.
The bank said making less use of contractors and agency employees would reduce the impact on permanent staff.
Where it was necessary for employees to leave the company, the bank would look to achieve this by offering voluntary severance.
The latest job cuts bring the total number of losses to 20,000 since the start of last year, union officials said.
Cath Speight, national officer at Unite, said: “It is time for the Government to step in and demand answers on behalf of taxpayers and staff.”
