RBS cuts 500 UK jobs from wealth division

by Gill Montia

Story link: RBS cuts 500 UK jobs from wealth division

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to cut a further 500 UK jobs.

The 84% state-owned bank is reducing the headcount at its wealth management unit, which includes London-based Coutts & Co and Edinburgh-based Adam & Company.

The division employs around 3,500 in the UK in all and job losses will be phased in over three years, as yet-to-be-installed new technology eases the workload on remaining staff.

RBS announced 2,600 jobs losses in the UK in May, with the bank’s insurance division, which includes Direct Line and Churchill, suffering the worst of the cull in preparation for a sale.

Since its rescue by the taxpayer, the group cut almost 23,000 jobs worldwide whilst trying to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum.

Reacting to the latest news, trade union Unite’s national officer, Rob MacGregor, said: “Unite does not believe that the introduction of, and investment in, new technology should go hand in hand with the shedding of jobs.”