RBS is cutting 9,000 jobs globally, including 4,500 in
the UK, and is moving to a common technology platform to cut
costs.
The cuts are being made in the group's manufacturing division,
which includes the bank's IT operations. The division spent £1.75bn
on technology services and support last year.
The cost-cutting plan aims to reduce annual costs by £2.5bn
within the next three years. It includes the company moving to a
common technology platform. RBS has been looking at ways to cut
costs through common IT since it acquired Dutch bank ABN Amro.
The bank announced the highest ever corporate loss in the UK
when it announced
losses of
more than £24bn in February.
The union representing the affected workers, Unite, said, "The
staff from this continually successful and high-performing
division, who have today been told that many of their jobs are at
risk, are the life blood of the bank. These people have continued
to ensure that RBS is able to deliver great customer service
throughout the recent difficulties at the company."
RBS said the actual number of jobs cut will be lower than this.
"A redeployment programme has already identified 650 new job
opportunities in the UK and the impact will also be reduced through
natural turnover and less use of agency staff," said the bank.
In February, the bank said it would
cut 2,300 jobs across its back-office operations in the UK. In
January it axed 3,000 staff across its operations.