Job loss fears at HBOS and Lloyds TSB

04/11/2008

Big job cuts are feared at two of Britain's largest lenders, due to their merger.

Trading updates from Lloyds TSB and HBOS, which struck a deal to join forces earlier this year, show that the firms continue to lose money thanks to the credit crisis.

Write-downs of toxic assets were found to have cost Lloyds £270 million and HBOS £2.7 billion over the three months to September.

More details of the merger also emerged from these updates - pointing towards job losses among branch and head office staff.

Lloyds said that it expected cost savings of £1.5 billion a year to result from the deal, which would likely be achieved by the cutting of duplicate employees and a reduction in high street outlets.

Commenting on the updates, Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: "It is completely unacceptable for the banks to continue fuelling speculation while leaving their worried staff in the dark."

Kevin Still, EuroDebt director, added: "Pre-Christmas redundancies seem to be very common these days and the lack of any certainty will not help the situation.

"For any bank employee that wants to remain in financial services, but may end up in financial difficulty as a result of the 'acquisition' by Lloyds, they need to take care in selecting the right advice that doesn't end up with public record information on their credit file that jeopardises future employment."

Tags; Job loss, Recent Graduate Debt,

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