Royal Bank of Scotland is to axe 3500 back office support and technology jobs and close 12 offices across the UK in a move branded as a "horror story" by finance unions.
The shock announcement by RBS will impact on regional Business Services Operations with 2500 losses and Technology Services, which is to shed 1000 jobs.
The losses will be driven by the closure or withdrawal from 12 UK centres, with a further three centres under review,
One third of all the losses, around 1500 roles, stem from the sale of 318 branches to Santander as ordered by the European Commission.
RBS has also announced plans to offshore upwards of 500 roles to its existing non-customer facing technology operations in US, India and the Far East.
Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, says the bank - which is 84% owned by the UK government - has cut 21,500 staff since 2009.
"The scale of the cuts announced today beggars belief and staff across the country today will be left reeling from this news," he says. "It will be a specially bitter pill for staff to swallow as RBS has decided to move some of the jobs abroad to the Far East, India and America."