Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut up to 9,000 jobs worldwide, in areas such as technology and call centres, in the largest announcement of job losses at a UK bank this year.
The bank, which is majority owned by the UK government having been brought to its knees by the credit crunch last year, has already cut 2,700 jobs from its 106,000 UK workforce this year. It has also slashed about 10,000 jobs in its investment banking divisions in the past year as part of a programme to reduce annual costs by £2.5bn ($3.7bn) within three years.
The latest cuts come in RBS's manufacturing division, which includes technology, call centres and group property. RBS said 9,000 jobs would be affected globally – including 4,500 in the UK – over the next two years, though it suggests the number of jobs lost will be “significantly” lower.