Lloyds reveals latest job cuts as 665 staff go along with more branches

The latest redundancies add to the around 5,500 net job cuts the bank has already made in 2016.

But unions said the ongoing cuts to the risked having an impact on customers.

The reductions are part of a three-year cost-cutting programme being implemented by the chief executive, António Horta-Osório.

The plans announced in 2014 projected 12,000 job losses and the closure of 400 branches by the end of 2017.

So far the bank, which has a 75,000-strong workforce, has slashed 9,435 jobs and earmarked 261 branches for closure as part of the strategy.

To cushion the blow of further branch closures, Lloyds said it was launching a fleet of mobile vans intended to visit communities knocked by the disappearance of high street outlets.

Lloyds, which also operates the Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands, has argued that branch closures are necessary as their use has fallen 15 per cent year on year.

The latest lay-offs will affect workers in divisions including retail, commercial banking, insurance, and consumer finance, the bank announced.

The net total of cuts is inclusive of 145 new roles that will be created across those business areas, Lloyds said.

A spokeswoman for Lloyds said all affected staff had been briefed by managers and the bank had notified workers’ union Unite, which has been critical of past Lloyds job cut announcements.

Last month Lloyds, which was bailed out by the UK taxpayer at a cost of £26 billion at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and is still partly state-owned, reported third-quarter profits that were largely unchanged from a year ago.