The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Financial Services Financial And Insurance Activities Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding 64 - Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding
680 - 1,000 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
1 December 2017
Employment effect (start)
1 December 2017
Foreseen end date
30 June 2018
Description
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced that it will close 259 of its branches in May and June 2018, which will affect 1,000 jobs across Scotland, England and Wales. In their statement the management of RBS said that with redeployment options offered to the employees whose jobs were at risk, there will be a minimum of 680 redundancies as 62 RBS and 197 NatWest branches are to be closed.
A spokesperson for RBS said 'We realise this is difficult news for our colleagues and we are doing everything we can to support those affected.' The national officer of Unite the Union, Rob MacGregor, has accused RBS of 'decimating' the network and betraying local communities. In March 2017 RBS announced the closure of 158 branches with a minimum of 472 redundancies.
Jane Howard, Managing Director of Personal Banking at RBS has blamed the decision on customers increasingly moving to online and mobile banking and said that it would invest in its remaining branches and its mobile banks. RBS is 71% taxpayer-owned. Scotland's Business Minister Paul Wheelhouse said the latest announcement was 'hugely concerning' and asked the UK government to ensure that communities have access to day-to-day banking services.
The closure of several bank branches has been announced in the UK this week, leading to smaller-scale redundancies, including at The Yorkshire Building Society and the Lloyds Banking Group.
Sources
1 December 2017: Royal Bank of Scotland (press release)
1 December 2017: The Daily Telegraph
1 December 2017: BBC News Scotland
Citation
Eurofound (2017), Royal Bank of Scotland, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 92711, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/92711.
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