LONDON: Taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group said on Thursday it was cutting around 945 jobs in a restructuring plan first outlined a year ago with the aim of reducing the bank's workforce by 9,000.
The staff affected are currently employed within the bank's retail, commercial banking and consumer finance teams, and in several back office divisions, the bank said.
Europe's second-biggest bank by market value said it planned to cut around 9,000 roles - roughly 10 percent of its workforce - in October 2014, in response to the increasing popularity of online banking and the automation of some back office functions.
"The group's policy is always to use natural turnover and to redeploy people wherever possible to retain their expertise and knowledge within the group," the bank said in a statement.
"Where it is necessary for employees to leave the company, it will look to achieve this by offering voluntary redundancy. Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort."
It said recognised unions Accord and Unite were consulted prior to the announcement and will continue to be consulted.
Rob MacGregor, Unite's National Officer for Finance, said the bank had committed to providing alternative jobs, voluntary redundancy and voluntary job swapping to those employees affected where possible.
"We will make sure the bank keep to these commitments, while continuing to consult and support our members," he said in a statement.
Lloyds was rescued with a 20.5 billion pound taxpayer-funded bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis, leaving the state holding 43 percent. The government has since reduced its holding to less than 10 percent, raising around 16 billion pounds for the public purse.
The bank reported weaker than expected third-quarter results last month, and set aside another 500 million pounds to compensate customers mis-sold loan insurance, bringing its total compensation bill to nearly 14 billion pounds, more than double that of any other bank.
The government is planning to sell at least 2 billion pounds worth of shares in Lloyds next spring and return the bank to full private ownership.
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