Latest news: RBS axes 3,500 jobs

Job cuts at the Royal Bank of Scotland have continued after it announced a further 3,500 jobs are to go as the bank continues its restructuring programme. 12/01/2012

The redundancies will be made in RBS’s investment banking wing, as it continues to reduce its risks and focuses on more profitable areas.

The cuts come on top of 2,000 job losses in the second half of 2011, meaning that more than 33,000 jobs have gone across the company since Stephen Hester became chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group in October 2008.

‘It is clear that, particularly in the wholesale banking arena, significant new pressures have emerged. The changes we are announcing today seek to ensure that RBS is at the front of the pack in pursuing a strategy that reflects the environment we expect to operate in,’ he said.

The company’s investment banking arm is to be renamed markets and international banking and will be run by its current boss John Hourican, who is in line for a £4.5million bonus.

David Fleming, Unite  national officer called the decision ‘staggering’.

‘It is a disgrace that while on a daily basis stories are emerging about the massive bonuses at the top of the bank, increasing numbers of jobs are being cut from amongst the hard-working staff,’ he said. 

RBS is 84% owned by the taxpayer following a £45billion bailout in 2008.