British Retail Bank TSB is to cut 250 jobs and close 36 branches. The job cuts will affect the bank's fraud operations, central operations and staff in branches scheduled for closure.
TSB claimed that it had made the decision to close the local branches as they were not being used by a sufficient number of customers.
Approximately 96% of all the bank's transactions are conducted outside a branch, while in-store transactions have fallen by 43% over the past four years.
Labour union Unite called the national lender's decision a "grave mistake" and said customers would "undoubtedly suffer a deterioration in service as a result of these job cuts".
Job Cuts and Branch Closures at TSB Bank
The first stage of branch closure will commence by September 2024 and continue through to May 2025. After these changes, TSB will be operating 175 branches in the UK.
The locations of the branches scheduled to shut down in September 2024 are :
- Alloa
- Bedworth
- Birmingham, Pype Hayes
- Bridlington
- Buxton
- Carmarthen
- Cwmbran
- Dovercourt
- Edinburgh, Leith
- Felixstowe
- Frome
- Glasgow, Cardonald
- Glasgow, Castlemilk
- Haddington
- Hounslow
- Lerwick
- Leven
- London, Bethnal Green
- London, Clapham
- Longton
- Manchester, Middleton
- Newcastle Upon Tyne, Milvain
- Peterhead
- Sheerness
- Stornoway
- Torquay
- Whitehaven
The following branches are due to close in May 2025:
- Amble
- Aylsham
- Banff
- Bedlington
- Bude
- Crook
- Flint
- Tenbury Wells
- Whitchurch
A TSB spokesperson said that the decision to close a branch is never taken lightly. However, with most banking now being done digitally by our customers, there is a need to find a better balance between digital and face-to-face services.
We remain committed to a national branch network and through innovation and integration with video, telephone, digital, branch and other face-to-face services TSB customers have more ways to bank with us than ever before.
According to Andy Case, regional manager of the Unite union, the workers who will lose their jobs "carry out essential work in fraud services and throughout the branch network".
"Through extensive negotiations, Unite has been able to substantially reduce the number of jobs at risk. However, that isn't sufficient, the union is pressing TSB to urgently reconsider its damaging bank branch closures plan.
"At a time when customers are increasingly concerned about financial fraud and often need support from a local bank branch, this is the wrong course of action."
TSB announced in February that it was saving £29 million for a programme of cost-cutting initiatives.
The bank is seeking to reduce expenditure and generate more income by simplifying its operations and making them more efficient. Already, 10 branches have been closed in the past year.