Lloyds Bank is planning a substantial restructuring of its operations that could see five per cent of staff face redundancy.
The lender is poised to reassess its performance management strategy, with the lowest-performing 3,000 of the company’s 63,000 workforce potentially losing their positions, as reported by City AM.
These fresh proposals, according to the Financial Times, represent the concluding stage of chief executive Charlie Nunn’s blueprint to reduce expenditure and unlock additional income sources.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “With [Lloyds’] annual staff turnover at just five per cent, versus a more typical 15 per cent, it’s been forced to take a more aggressive approach to weed out the lower performers.
“This seems like sensible business and aligns with the banks quiet push to offshore more roles, aiming to hire 4,000 people in its India tech hub by year-end. If it can match peers like Natwest and Barclays on offshoring and branch reductions, the cost improvements could drive meaningful profit upside.”
Lloyds executives have been instructed to begin evaluating employee performance, with those falling short to be enrolled in “structured support” programmes, the FT reported.
Lloyds Bank bosses ‘excited’ about the future
A spokesperson for Lloyds said: “To achieve the ambitious strategy and deliver brilliant service to customers, we are transforming our business. As we build highly-skilled teams to move faster forward and deliver great outcomes for our customers, we are striving to embed a high-performance culture in the organisation.”
The spokesperson said they “continuously look for ways to help our colleagues perform at their best” which are “in line with wider industry practice.”
“We know change can be uncomfortable, but we are excited about the opportunities ahead as we propel forward to achieve our growth ambitions and delivering exceptional customer experiences.”
The proposals emerge as banking leaders throughout the UK examine methods to reduce expenditure and enhance shareholder returns.
Alongside Nunn, the chief executives of the Big Four banks – Lloyds, Natwest, HSBC and Barclays – are engaged in significant cost-reduction initiatives.
HSBC chief Georges Elhedery has outlined an ambitious blueprint to secure $1.5bn in savings by the conclusion of 2026.
