Lloyds Bank overhaul puts 3,000 jobs at risk as part of cost-cutting drive

"The decision marks the latest stage of chief executive Charlie Nunn's strategy to streamline the business, reduce expenses and create new revenue streams. Managers have been told to begin ranking staff performance, with those deemed underperformers placed on "structured support" programmes that could ultimately lead to job losses. Analysts say the move reflects Lloyds' unusually low staff turnover, which stands at around 5 per cent compared with a more typical 15 per cent across the sector."

"According to Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, the bank has been forced to take a harder line. He argued the approach was "sensible" given Lloyds' quiet push to offshore more roles, noting that the bank is aiming to hire 4,000 staff at its India technology hub by the end of the year. If Lloyds can mirror the efficiency improvements seen at rivals such as NatWest and Barclays through offshoring and branch reductions, Britzman suggested, the group could unlock meaningful profit upside."

"Lloyds insists the changes are part of a wider transformation designed to strengthen the business and better serve customers. "To achieve the ambitious strategy and deliver brilliant service, we are transforming our business," a spokesperson said. "As we build highly skilled teams to move faster and deliver great outcomes, we are striving to embed a high-performance culture across the organisation." The bank acknowledged that "change can be uncomfortable" but said it remained "excited about the opportunities ahead.""

Lloyds Bank plans to cut up to 3,000 roles by targeting the bottom five per cent of its 63,000-strong workforce as part of a performance overhaul. Managers will rank staff and place underperformers on structured support programmes that could lead to redundancies. The bank's staff turnover is around 5 per cent versus a typical 15 per cent in the sector, prompting a tougher approach. Lloyds is pursuing offshoring and aims to hire 4,000 people at its India technology hub, framing the changes as a transformation to reduce costs, build high-skilled teams and improve profitability.

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