Lloyds places thousands of jobs under review in tech overhaul
Lloyds Banking Group has placed thousands of jobs in its IT division under review as the lender races to beef up its engineering teams and modernise its digital banking offer, CityAM can reveal.
The FTSE 100 bank told some 6,000 tech and engineering staff on Wednesday that their jobs may be at risk of redundancy as it overhauls the structure of the business and creates new roles designed to accelerate technology development, CityAM understands.
A review period is expected to run for around four weeks, after which staff will be told whether they have a role in the newly reshaped team. All 6,000 people will be assessed and either transitioned into new jobs or let go.
However, the plan is expected to bolster the overall headcount of the team by around 1,200 and will “supercharge” in-house technology and engineering expertise, a spokesperson said.
“Making changes means not only creating new roles and upskilling colleagues but also saying goodbye to talented people who have been part of the group’s success in the past,” the person told CityAM.
“Where that is the case, we will do everything we can to support them with the changes recently announced.”
Lloyds said the transformation strategy aims to create a “highly skilled workforce” positioned to lead its push into digital banking.
The move comes as part of a group-wide overhaul that began three years ago aimed at managing costs and modernising the bank. The current shake-up to its tech team forms part of a push to modernise its digital banking offer, branded ‘Platform 3.0’.
Lloyds, which employs around 66,000 people and counts Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds in its stable of brands, is among many of Britain’s biggest lenders racing to digitise their banking platforms and compete against fintech firms and so-called neobanks.
Lloyds announced last week it would be closing 136 branches across its three brands, citing a decline in footfall and rising demand for its app-based banking services.
Lenders are also looking to slash their costs as a period of bumper interest rate-fuelled profits comes to an end.
While Lloyds earnings have been more resilient than some peers, the bank posted a modest fall in pre-tax profit from £1.9bn to £1.8bn a year earlier, above the average analyst forecast of £1.6bn.
‘We are transforming our business’
Lloyds recruited 10,000 employees last year and 4,000 new engineering staff to date to support its ongoing transformation.
Along with workforce restructure, Lloyds said it will invest in modern tools and automation to allow its engineers to improve customer experience.
The spokesperson added: “To achieve the ambitious strategy we launched in February 2022 and deliver better service to our customers, we are transforming our business.
“We are excited about the progress we have made, which is already delivering benefits.”
They added: “We know change can be uncomfortable, but we are excited about the opportunities ahead as we propel forward to achieve our growth ambitions and deliver exceptional customer experience.”