Lloyds Banking Group is set to close its contact centre in Liverpool later this year, impacting approximately 500 employees at the facility. As part of this transition, employees will be required to commute to the Chester location, while some positions are also expected to be eliminated.
The bank has indicated that this closure is part of a strategy to consolidate its operations, aiming to establish “fewer, better-equipped” offices. Of the 500 staff members currently at the Liverpool site, around 420 will be offered relocation options to Chester, approximately 25 miles away, while the remaining 80 employees will have the opportunity to work remotely.
Dominic Hook, a national officer with the union Unite, criticized the decision, asserting, “The proposed closure of the substantial Lloyds Banking Group centre in Liverpool Speke is a huge mistake. The repercussions for the hundreds of employees and the local community will be significant and completely unnecessary.”
Shortly after the announcement regarding Liverpool, it was revealed that Lloyds would also be closing its site in Dunfermline, Scotland, which will affect 1,500 jobs. Employees at this location will have the option to work from home or relocate to the Citymark building in Edinburgh.
In a related development, the bank is expected to announce hundreds of job cuts today, primarily in its consumer relationship division, where up to 1,300 positions are under review. This move includes the planned lay-off of 163 employees in England and Wales as a result of the recently introduced branch-sharing initiative. This plan allows customers of Halifax, Lloyds, and Bank of Scotland to access any of the group’s branches.
Additionally, the bank has already confirmed plans to close 55 more branches this year, which would reduce the total number of high street locations to 932.