Lloyds Banking Group is cutting 650 permanent, full time jobs and axing more contractors and temporary staff as part of its latest shake-up.
The bank's wide-ranging plans affect a total of 1850 positions, taking the total tally of job losses to 17,700 since the part-nationalised bank was created through the merger of Lloyds TSB and Hbos, claims the Unite union.
Insurance and back office-based staff in Nottingham and Chester will lose their jobs, with some relocated to other sites, including Warrington and Speke.
Around 1000 jobs are on the line as the result of a decision to close its Halifax Independent Agency business by November. The 265 independent agencies are mainly housed in other businesses, such as estate agents and solicitors.
To help mitigate the effects of the closures on customers, Lloyds says it has agreed an arrangement with the Post Office that will enable Halifax savings and banking customers to deposit cash and cheques.
The bank says it has kept the total number of potential job losses to a minimum through relocation, redeployment and the release of contractors and temporary staff but the Unite union has slammed the latest cuts.
"The scale of these cuts is extreme, the bank's recovery plans are already well on course to deliver 30 per cent higher than forecast savings. This taxpayer owned financial institution needs to focus on retaining the hardworking staff who have ensured the highest levels of service to its customers over the past 18 difficult months, not dumping them on the scrap heap," says Cath Speight, Unite national officer.