Lloyds TSBaccused last month by union Unite of embarking on a
strategy of "death by a thousand cuts",has
announced another 500 job cuts this week. They follow 650 job cuts
last month.
IT will be a victim of the latest cuts as the bank closes a
processing centre in Kent.
Rob MacGregor, national officer at union Unite, said: "These
latest job losses are yet another example of the weekly hammering
that the workforce of the bank is having to endure."
"We have already seen over 2,400 job losses announced by the
bank since its formation in January. 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."
There is no end to job cuts within banking IT departments on the
horizon.
Barclays announced another round of IT job cuts last month, in
an attempt to "increase operational efficiency".
An internal Barclays e-mail revealed that the bank is planning
to cut an extra 350 UK technology jobs.
Keith Brooks, general secretary at Unite, who represents
Barclays workers, told Computer Weekly last month that he could not
predict when banks will sop cutting jobs. "There is nothing on the
horizon to suggest it will stop. All I can see is further hurdles
and more job cuts."
Ralph Silva, analyst at Towergroup, said banks are already
operating with the minimum number of workers needed.
Nevertheless, up to 7% of IT workers in banks could lose their
job this year. "If they have to make cuts, they will close entire
businesses," he said.