Unite anger as Lloyds axe 625

May 20 2009 By Iain Laing, The Journal

THE cull of jobs in the finance industry continued with the axing of another 625 posts at part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group.

Although the latest round of cutbacks was mainly in London and Edinburgh the Unite union said the decision by Lloyds Banking Group suggested the company had embarked on a strategy of "death by a thousand cuts."

National officer Rob MacGregor said the union was furious, adding: "The union will not accept a situation where Lloyds makes weekly announcements of hundreds of job losses. Staff must be told the company’s plans for the future of the organisation and not be left with the uncertainty that they could be the next to lose their jobs."

Unite said 20,000 finance jobs have been lost in the first four months of the year, including 2,500 at Lloyds.

Lloyds said it was making a number of changes to its wholesale banking division, which provides banking and financial services to corporate customers across the UK.

The group’s commercial banking operations will be brought into one business, while a single acquisition finance business will be created under the existing Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets brand.