Lloyds Banking Group revamp to affect thousands of jobs

Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed that it is cutting 6,240 jobs and creating 8,240 new ones as it overhauls its digital services.

Lloyds said that 75% of the new roles would be filled by existing staff, but that some specialist roles such as data scientists would come from outside.

Branches will be unaffected but its site in Gillingham will close.

Britain's biggest High Street lender has been reorganising as more people bank online, rather than in branches.

Lloyds said some existing jobs would be refreshed and some new ones created, with staff being retrained.

It added: "This forms part of the £3bn commitment the group has made to invest heavily in its technology and people over the course of its three-year strategic plan."

Unite union national officer Rob MacGregor said the news would "undoubtedly hit the morale of staff who have had to endure round after round of job cuts, branch closures and constant upheaval".

He added: "Unite will be pressing Lloyds to guarantee no compulsory redundancies and ensure that staff who move into new roles are given the support and skills that enable them to continue delivering the best possible customer service."

Lloyds has been shutting High Street outlets as more customers do their banking through apps or on the internet.

This year it earmarked more than 60 branches for closure, while in 2017 it closed 54 Lloyds branches, 24 from its Bank of Scotland brand and 22 belonging to the Halifax.

However, the lender has also been creating new jobs, and this summer promised to invest £3bn in technology and staff training as part of a three-year plan to transform the business.

In the three months to 30 September, total revenue at the bank rose to £4.7bn from £4.6bn a year previously, while profit before tax fell 7% to £1.8bn.