The Co-operative Bank to slash 400 jobs in cost-cutting drive

The Co-operative Bank has announced that it plans to cut around 400 jobs as the lender looks to reduce costs.

The bank said on Tuesday it was embarking on a consultation and restructuring expected to result in a net reduction of around 12 per cent of its roles. The consultation period will end in early May.

The move comes as part of a wider review, which the bank said would “identify opportunities to simplify processes, reduce our cost base and make efficiency improvements.”

“The Co-operative Bank has over the last three years pursued a strategy to simplify and transform the business with the aim of delivering long-term sustainable growth,” it said.

The redundancies are set to affect staff across the business, including head office, operations and branches, but no branch closures are planned as a result.

Co-op Bank expects around 200 to 250 staff to leave the firm, with others eligible to apply for different roles within the firm.

The bank said it had recently invested more than £100m in re-platforming its IT system, which is nearly complete.

It added: “As the bank enters the next phase of its transformation plan it will seek to leverage the benefit of this investment and will be taking steps to ensure we have the right resource and processes in place to deliver our customer and commercial objectives.”

The bank’s announcement follows similar plans laid out by its high street rivals as lenders face squeezed margins and pressure to transition to online services.

Metro Bank announced earlier this month that it planned to cut around 1,000 jobs, some 22 per cent of its headcount, by the middle of April.

Lloyds Bank said in January that it would slash some 1,600 jobs across its branch network and create 830 new roles in a “relationship growth” team, while Barclays cut 5,000 jobs globally last year to “simplify and reshape the business”.

Co-op Bank said its choice to cut staff “has not been made lightly” and that it would “work closely” with its trade union and support affected employees.

The lender is currently in exclusive talks with Coventry Building Society which could lead to a merger this year and potentially take it back to mutual ownership.

Co-op Bank’s pretax profit fell to £71.4m in 2023 from £132.6m in 2022, largely driven by costs related to the potential takeover and “exceptional redress on legacy mortgage business”.