Major UK banking group slicing 600 jobs to scale back prices by £85m

Banking group Close Brothers said it is cutting about 600 jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next 18 months as it looks to reduce annual costs by about £85 million.

The firm said the cuts will see nearly a quarter of its 2,600-strong workforce axed and the decisions would be made over the next 18 months.

It comes as part of efforts to slash costs by about £25 million in its current year to the end of September, up from a £20 million previous target, and by around another £60 million in the next financial year.

The cuts will also come by looking to outsource and offshore work, cut back its office network and also roll out the use of artificial intelligence (AI) “at pace”.

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Chief executive Mike Morgan said: “While the impact on affected colleagues is regrettable, these actions are necessary to structurally lower our cost base, while increasing our agility and ability to serve our customers.”

The major jobs cuts come in the wake of the car finance scandal and follows the bank recording a loss of £65.5m in the first half of the year.

Close Brothers set aside £135m in October following the UK’s financial watchdog outlining proposals for its industry-wide redress scheme for the car mis-selling saga. The extra funds dragged the bank’s total provisions to £300m.

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