Lloyds reviews Cheltenham & Gloucester closure

19th Aug 2009 15:43

Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking said it will review its decision to close all 164 Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) branches.The surprise announcement comes two month after the lender said it would close the entire branch network by November.Lloyds didn't give a reason for the decision, but said the branches will remain open while it is considering its options. It bought C&G for £1.8bn in 1995, but was forced to make some tough decisions following the disastrous acquisition of rival HBOS.Today's news offers some hope to hundreds of C&G employees who are facing losing their jobs. Lloyds, which is 43%-owned by the taxpayers, has continued to axe staff in its attempt to streamline the business following last year's takeover of HBOS. Last month it said it is axing another 1,200 jobs in its group operations and insurance business by the end of March 2010. At the end of June, it announced that 2,100 jobs will be lost over the next three years. Only a week before that, is said it will close a customer services facility in Chatham and shed 510 jobs by the end of the year. In May, the lender confirmed 625 British posts would be lost due to the combination of the corporate and small-business lending units, with an additional 211 full-time jobs to go by January 2010 due to the merger of the Lloyds and HBOS telephone and digital banking services.