The jobs of over 300 employees at banking giant Santander are to be put at risk as part of the firm's transformation plans.
The announcement by the bank on Tuesday means 334 permanent employees across the 海角视频 face being placed at risk, with 235 of those working at the Bootle offices on Merseyside.
It's in a bid by the bank to create a "simpler structure". A statement from the Communications Workers Union (CWU) described the news as "concerning", but said "substantial" numbers of alternative roles are already on the table for those affected by the announcement.
It's hoped some affected employees will opt for voluntary redundancy, and that others will find new roles in the company.
CWU's national officer Sally Bridge said: “The union’s Santander National Team is obviously concerned by these proposals but our primary focus is on identifying and firming up alternative roles for all impacted members in Bootle who do not wish to take redundancy package.
“We’re already pushing the bank hard on alternative opportunities and it’s positive that 456 roles have been identified as vacancies including a large number in the financial crime team – and are heartened by the statements that have already been made by the management on its commitment to redeployment and reskilling.
“As such, although the number of employees affected by this part of Santander Operations’ ongoing transformation is substantial – with Bootle being disproportionately affected – we’re hopeful we’ll be able to mitigate and avoid compulsory redundancies because there will be employees who want to voluntarily take the redundancy package, but more importantly substantial numbers of alternative roles are already on the table.
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“The key task for the CWU National Team is to ensure these roles are viable and that they will hopefully eventually provide genuinely permanent roles for displaced individuals that they can move into seamlessly.
“Affected members will be kept fully updated as the formal consultation progresses, and anyone with questions or concerns should contact their local representative in the first instance.”
In September, Santander said while it considered the impact of the coronavirus.
Most Merseyside staff have worked from home since the lockdown began in March, during which time the bank "sought the views of colleagues across the bank on working arrangements".
A Santander spokeswoman said on Wednesday: “We are proposing some changes which will affect a number of colleagues in our Santander operations department to create a simpler structure allowing us to serve our customers better.
"We have consulted our recognised trade unions on the proposals and our priority is to support colleagues whose roles may be impacted to find alternative opportunities based on the current vacancies that we have available.”