Lloyds Bank: 3,000 jobs at risk in performance overhaul
Lloyds Bank is planning a major overhaul of its operations that could put five per cent of workers on the chopping block.
The bank is set to review its approach to performance management with the bottom 3,000 of the firm’s 63,000 employees at risk of losing their role.
The new plans, as reported by the Financial Times, form the final phase of chief executive Charlie Nunn’s plans to strip back costs and open up new revenue streams.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “With [Lloyds’] annual staff turnover at just five per cent, versus a more typical 15 per cent, it’s been forced to take a more aggressive approach to weed out the lower performers.
“This seems like sensible business and aligns with the banks quiet push to offshore more roles, aiming to hire 4,000 people in its India tech hub by year-end. If it can match peers like Natwest and Barclays on offshoring and branch reductions, the cost improvements could drive meaningful profit upside.”
Lloyds managers have been told to start ranking staff performance with under-performers to be placed on “structured support” programmes, the FT said.
Lloyds Bank bosses ‘excited’ about the future
A spokesperson for Lloyds said: “To achieve the ambitious strategy and deliver brilliant service to customers, we are transforming our business. As we build highly-skilled teams to move faster forward and deliver great outcomes for our customers, we are striving to embed a high-performance culture in the organisation.”
The spokesperson said they “continuously look for ways to help our colleagues perform at their best” which are “in line with wider industry practice”.
“We know change can be uncomfortable, but we are excited about the opportunities ahead as we propel forward to achieve our growth ambitions and delivering exceptional customer experiences.”
The plans come as banking chiefs across the UK look at ways to slash costs and boost shareholders returns.
Along with Nunn, the bosses of the Big Four banks – Lloyds, Natwest, HSBC and Barclays – are in the midst of major cost-cutting endeavours.
HSBC chief Georges Elhedery has laid out an ambitious strategy to net $1.5bn in savings by the end of 2026.