RBS share price: Lender set to axe 200 jobs

Royal Bank of Scotland Group (LON:RBS) is set to axe about 200 jobs, Reuters has reported. The move will come with the blue-chip lender, bailed-out by the UK government during the financial crisis, looking to scale back its branch network.

RBS’ share price has been little changed in London this morning, having lost 0.37 percent to stand at 212.90p as of 10:28 BST. The shares are slightly underperforming the benchmark FTSE 100 index which is currently 0.08 percent worse off at 6,157.65 points.
Sources close to the process told Reuters today that RBS was planning to axe about 200 jobs at its retail bank, and close a further 20 branches. The part government-owned lender has slashed about 1,350 positions in its branch network since mid-March. The source noted that the employees affected by the latest cuts work in Scotland, Wales or southwest England.

“This is nothing short of a year-long cull of local branches across the country,” Rob MacGregor, national officer at the Unite union, commented as quoted by Reuters. “RBS seem to be sending a message that properly staffed branch services are only for the privileged.”
A spokesman for the FTSE 100 bank told the newswire that the lender reviewed its “branch network regularly to make sure the services we provide are appropriate for each local community, based on customer usage and other ways to bank in the local area”.
RBS is currently undergoing a major restructuring which includes trimming the size of its branch network, as the bailed-out lender looks to cut costs and return to profitability. The company, however, is facing a number of challenges, including the divestment of its Williams & Glyn business, a condition of its £45.5-billion bailout, having recently warned that it might miss yet another deadline to offload the business.
As of 10:55 BST, Thursday, 12 May, Royal Bank of Scotland Group share price is 213.45p.