01/05/2008

Job Cuts Planned At Troubled Bank?

Troubled lender Northern Rock plans to axe 2,000 jobs within three years, it has been reported.

The bank has been struggling since last year due to unsettling financial conditions sparked off by the global credit crunch.

Long queues formed outside the bank last September as savers tried to withdraw their savings.

The Bank of England bailed out the stricken bank in "last resort" move after consultation with Treasury and the Financial Services Authority.

It is expected that Northern Bank bosses will announce the pending job losses next week.

Northern Rock boss Ron Sandler said last month that cuts were necessary for the bank to re-establish itself as a reputable lender "capable of being returned to the private sector".

It is believed that most of the job cuts will be in the north east of England where the bank is based.

Trade unions have warned that such a dramatic job cut will but a huge strain on local economy.

Unite members at the bank are demanding that management acknowledge their responsibilities to the staff and ensure that any redundancies are managed on a voluntary basis.

Graham Goddard, Unite Deputy General Secretary said: "If downsizing goes ahead, Unite will be demanding that Northern Rock give a commitment to no compulsory redundancies. The workforce did not contribute to the situation which the bank now finds itself in and should not be expected to pay the ultimate price by being forced out of their jobs."

Mr Goddard added there should be re-training and redeployment alternatives to compulsory redundancies.

The news will come as a blow to Prime Minister Gordon Brown as millions of voters are preparing to vote in local elections.

It is reported the bank is planning to cut by half its £110 billion mortgage book and has stopped taking new business.

The bank reduced its variable mortgage rates by 0.10% following the 10 April cut in the Bank of England Base Rate (BBR).

Northern Rock was formed on 1 July, 1965, as a result of a merger of Northern Counties Permanent Building Society and Rock Building Society.

The bank was taken into temporary public ownership in February this year.

(DS)

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