Edinburgh workers targeted as axe set to fall on 600 more Lloyds jobs

According to reports, all affected employees work in information technology and back-office roles and are being told of the decision on Wednesday.

Reuters has cited sources on condition of anonymity because as they are not authorised to discuss the plans.

Lloyds, which was bailed-out by the UK Government to the tune of £20.5 billion at the height of the financial crisis is still partly state-owned.

The group is still undergoing a major restructuring as part of an aggressive cost-cutting programme and is more than two thirds of the way through a three-year plan to cut about a tenth of its workforce.

“The continuation of the bank’s major job loss programme will bring disappointment as staff feel they have already faced two years of endless workforce cuts”, said Rob MacGregor, national officer at the Unite union.

A statement from Lloyds said there will be a net reduction of 525 jobs when newly created roles are included.

The bank also said it is closing 23 branches by October because customers increasingly bank online and more functions are automated.

The bank could now consider deeper cuts than originally targeted because of the programme’s swift progress, two separate sources said.

So far this year, Lloyds has announced plans to cut about 3,580 positions from its 75,000-strong workforce.