´óÏó´«Ã½

Lloyds Banking Group is to cut about 1,600 jobs across its branch network as part of an overhaul of its services due to more people banking online.

But the group, which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland, said its restructure would also create 830 roles, leading to an overall net reduction of 769 jobs.

Lloyds said: "It's important our people are available when it matters most."

It said the cuts did not apply to junior staff, and that voluntary redundancy would be offered to some.

The UK's biggest lender said the way customers chose to bank with it had changed rapidly in recent years, with more than 21 million banking online or through mobile apps.

It said just 8% of customers chose to use a branch exclusively to manage their money.

The new 830 jobs will be in the banking group's relationship growth team, which will see more staff talk to customers in branches through video meetings or over the phone.

Lloyds said this would mean customers would not have to "wait for appointments as often".

Accord Union, which says it represents more than 22,000 staff at Lloyds Banking Group and TSB, said the changes would significantly affect the branch network and its members.

"The aim is to get all customers using digital first although the bank accepts that not all customers have the tools or the appetite to switch," the union said.

It suggested most of the redundancies would be as a result of changes to management structures, but said "the aim is to achieve most of these reductions through voluntary redundancy".

Several High Street banks have announced job cuts in recent times and many have been closing branches as customers move online.

Barclays, NatWest, Virgin Money, Ulster Bank and RBS all announced closures in 2023. Metro Bank revealed plans to cut 20% of its workers and Barclays cut thousands of jobs around the world in a huge cost-cutting exercise.

Lloyds has been announcing changes to its business since February 2022 and late last year revealed plans to close a further 45 bank branches.

Most of the 22 Halifax branches, 19 Lloyds, and four Bank of Scotland branches will close in March and April, with the remaining to shut in August and November.

But staff affected are to be offered roles at other branches or in a different part of the business, with no compulsory redundancies planned.

The move will take the total of Lloyds group branch closures to 276, leaving 515 Lloyds Bank sites, 413 Halifax branches, and 133 Bank of Scotland branches remaining.