Lloyds cuts 625 jobs
Updated on 19 May 2009
Lloyds Bank is to cut 625 jobs, the Unite union has announced.
The cuts will mainly affect bank workers in Edinburgh and London
Unite 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."
It comes after the part-nationalised bank announced plans to raise £4 billion from investors in a bid to cut dividend payments to the Treasury.
The taxpayer currently owns 43 per cent of the bank, but if all other shareholders snub the issue, that could rise to 65 per cent.
Investors have rejected previous share offers by banks needing Government support because the price has been well above the market value.
This move is tipped to receive more backing because the shares are being offered at 38.4p - a discount of almost 60 per cent on the current share price.
There have been further reports the Government is trying to offload its stake in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland which it also bailed out as the credit crunch bit.
UK Financial Investments (UKFI) - appointed to manage the State's shareholdings in the banks - is reportedly seeking to tap into this new-found wave of optimism.
It is already thought to have had substantial contact with potential investors, including UK and foreign institutions, such as sovereign wealth funds.
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