Lloyds Bank is preparing to axe as many as 3,000 jobs as part of a sweeping performance overhaul aimed at cutting costs and driving profitability.
The shake-up, first reported by the Financial Times, would see the bottom 5 per cent of the lender’s 63,000-strong workforce at risk of redundancy.
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.”
The move comes as all of the UK’s biggest lenders face similar pressures. Banking bosses have been accelerating cost-cutting plans in an effort to bolster shareholder returns in a tough environment. HSBC, under chief financial officer Georges Elhedery, has set out plans to deliver $1.5bn in savings by 2026, while NatWest and Barclays have been scaling back their branch networks and shifting more roles overseas.
For Lloyds, Britain’s largest retail bank, the overhaul underscores the intense pressure to modernise its workforce and remain competitive while demonstrating to investors that it can deliver efficiency gains and stronger returns.
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Lloyds Bank overhaul puts 3,000 jobs at risk as part of cost-cutting drive