Around 500 jobs are expected to be lost at Virgin Money after the business announced integration plans that will see a number of branches close around the 海角视频.
Virgin Money said it would close 22 branches across the country in 2020, and would consolidate a further 30 branches to nearby locations, after a merger between Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank and Virgin Money.
Around 500 full-time equivalent roles will be cut across the business, mostly from head offices but around 215 from its branches, the bank announced.
It comes after the business, formerly named CYBG, bought Virgin Money in 2018. All three parts of the business are set to start using the Virgin Money brand from 2021.
The bank is to close Virgin Money branches at Gateshead, South Shields and Giffnock, while Clydesdale will close sites at Crieff, Dingwall, Dumbarton, Dyce, Edinburgh and Wishaw. There will also be Yorkshire Bank closures at Birkenhead, Bridlington, Brighouse, Cannock, Gloucester, Leeds, Morley, Pontefract, Sheffield, Warrington, Wombwell and Worksop.
In addition, a number of branches will consolidate, affecting sites in Glasgow, Hull, Leicester, Peterborough, Sheffield, Sunderland, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bolton, Carlisle, Coventry, Darlington, Derby, Dundee, Edinburgh, Hartlepool, Kendal, Leeds, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oldham, Preston, Stockport, Stockton and York.
Lucy Dimes, group business transformation officer, said: “The decision to close branches is never taken lightly. The changes announced today are focused on consolidating branches where there is another Clydesdale Bank/Yorkshire Bank/Virgin Money location within half a mile as well as closing a number of branches to reflect changes to customer demand.
“As our customers change the way they want to bank with us, we are evolving the role of our stores - investing in all of the ways that customers are choosing to bank with us, including a reimagined Virgin Money presence on the high street.
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“Following the unveiling of three new Virgin Money stores in December last year, the full rebrand of our national network of 166 stores begins in April and will be completed by September this year.”
The branches will begin to close in late May and Virgin Money said it hoped to find alternative roles for staff within the group. But it said a number of employees would be at risk of redundancy as a result of the closures.
Posters will be placed in each affected store and letters sent to will be sent to customers at least 12 weeks before any store closes providing details to customers on the alternative ways of continuing to manage their accounts, including nearest stores, ATMs and Post Office counters.
Last year, Virgin Money announced that its corporate locations will be focussed around two major hubs in Gosforth and Glasgow, supported by regional presences in Chester, Edinburgh, Leeds and London. At the time it said it would be creating a 200-job digital disruption hub in Newcastle.
But it is not the only bank to announce branch closures, with HSBC axing 27 sites earlier this week and Lloyds saying in January that it would shutting a further 56 branches.