Lloyds to cut 1,600 jobs across branch network amid growing customer preference for digital banking
Lloyds Banking Group is set to cut around 1,600 jobs from its branches as more and more customers choose to do their banking online.
Lloyds Banking Group to axe around 1,600 jobs
The structural overhaul comes amid the group’s claims that more than 21 million of its customers prefer to bank via online or mobile channels, with just 8% exclusively opting for branch-based banking.
As a result of this growing preference for digital banking, Lloyds plans to remove 1,600 jobs from its physical branch network. The group tells FinTech Futures that there will be no role reductions for its most junior staff and it will be offering voluntary redundancy “in some situations”.
However, it also says that, as part of the restructuring, the group will be introducing over 830 new roles, predominantly within the relationship growth team of its consumer relationships business.
The new hires will be trained in understanding “our customers’ financial goals and needs and meet them through our products and services” in the hope of delivering “an improved service, with more colleagues available to see customers quickly” via branch, video and phone-based banking channels.
When the dust settles, the removal and addition of new roles is forecast to result in an overall net reduction in headcount of around 769 across the group.
“As more customers choose to manage their day-to-day banking online, it’s important our people are available when it matters most,” a spokesperson for the group tells FinTech Futures. “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.”
The move forms part of the group’s “ambitious strategy”, launched in February 2022, to better position itself as “a leading digital bank” while simultaneously meeting a broader range of financial needs.
As part of this strategy, the group, which also includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland, announced in November its intention to close a total of 123 branches this year, including 19 Lloyds branches, 22 Halifax branches and four Bank of Scotland sites.
