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Lloyds Banking Group is closing its Liverpool office as the high-street bank enters the final stretch of a £4bn growth and digitisation plan.
The UK’s largest retail lender on Wednesday told staff it would close the office, forcing its 500 employees to commute about 25 miles to Chester, according to a statement by trade union Unite.
“The proposed closure of the large Lloyds Banking Group centre in Liverpool Speke is a huge mistake,” said Dominic Hook, Unite national officer.
“The impact on the hundreds of staff and the region will be significant and is wholly unnecessary.”
Lloyds’s Liverpool office is a large contact centre dealing with fraud and customer services. The closure came as part of a series of announcements across the group on Wednesday that also included job cuts, said two people familiar with the plan.
Lloyds in 2022 embarked on a five-year £4bn investment plan, led by chief executive Charlie Nunn, aimed at increasing revenue that does not rely on interest rates, and digitising its operations to cut costs and improve returns.
As part of that effort, it has already reviewed 2,500 jobs, and in 2023 embarked on a round of job cuts.
