Lloyds Bank is to cut some 1,600 jobs across its branch network, a company spokesperson has told City A.M., as part of its shift towards digital services.
The move from Britain’s largest domestic bank is the latest in a series of layoffs within the sector amid margin pressure from peaking interest rates and fierce competition within the deposit and mortgage markets.
Barclays revealed earlier this month that it cut around 5,000 jobs in 2023 to reduce costs, while Metro Bank is set to lay off 20 per cent of its staff as part of a major restructuring.
Lloyds’ plans, first reported by Reuters, also include creating 830 new roles in a “relationship growth” team that will interact with customers in branches and virtually, the spokesperson said.
They added that the “most junior” positions would not be affected by the job cuts, and some employees would be offered voluntary redundancy.
UK banks are increasingly transitioning to digital banking as fewer customers rely exclusively on branch networks, which are costly to run. Lloyds said just eight per cent of its 21m customers still choose to bank with branches only.
“As more customers choose to manage their day-to-day banking online, it’s important our people are available when it matters most,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re introducing a number of new roles and making changes to our branch teams so our customers can see us how and when they want to.”
City A.M. understands the newly announced cuts are unrelated to a review of 2,500 mainly back office jobs at Lloyds reported in November. Lloyds had 59,354 staff at the end of 2022.