Lloyds staff on Teesside could face months of uncertainty over their futures, following the bank’s announcement of massive job cuts.
The process to shed 9,000 staff from the payroll and close 200 branches will not begin until next year - and could take up to three years, bosses have confirmed today.
Customers’ wishes will be ‘taken into consideration’ when deciding which branches to keep open, the bank has confirmed.
The group said it would target closures in town centres where it currently has more than one branch.
Lloyds has branches across Teesside, including three in Middlesbrough.
The bank says it will invest in remote advice services for customers, while they will increasingly be expected to use online banking or self-service facilities within branches, instead of dealing with staff face-to-face.
Meanwhile, the group announced a 41% rise in underlying profits for the third quarter to £2.2bn.
A spokesperson told the Gazette today there could be closures ‘where there are overlaps of branches in urban locations.’
“We are still going through the process of identifying the branches that will be affected.
“There is no specific regional focus. Wherever our customers want the branches to be, we will take that into consideration.
“Redeployment is our first option,” they added.
The group has confirmed more than 90% of Lloyds and Bank of Scotland customers would continue to have a “useable branch” within five miles of their home.
Three years ago Lloyds, which is 25% owned by the taxpayer after being rescued during the financial crisis, pledged to keeping total branch numbers at the same level but now says the commitment has expired.
Finance director George Culmer said of the pledge to keep branches open: “That was a specific commitment we made over the last planned period. We won’t be able to commit to that going forward.”
Branches of TSB are not affected by the announcement.
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