Management
Technology
- Applications
- Business Intelligence
- Development
- Hardware
- Mobile & Wireless
- Networking
- Internet
- Operating Systems
- Security Products
- Servers & Datacentre
- Storage
Toolbox
Training
Books
White Papers
Webcast
Resource Centre
May 21, 2009
Royal Bank of Scotland lays off hundreds of IT staff
Common technology platform likely to affect global payments
By Leo King, www.computerworlduk.com
Royal Bank of Scotland will cut up to 700 IT jobs over the coming months.
Advert
The news comes on the day details emerged of its transition to a common technology platform, as part of a drive to cut costs.
The cuts are part of the 4,500 UK job cuts announced last month.
The 700 jobs to go include some in facilities management. The bank refused to say how many purely IT jobs were at stake. In February, a separate 2,300 back office job cuts were announced.
The bank, now 70 percent owned by the taxpayer, is taking aggressive steps to cut £2.5 billion of costs in the next three years.
The move to an undisclosed common technology platform has been prompted by the acquisition of parts of ABN Amro, which it split with rivals Santander and Fortis in the largest ever banking takeover in Europe at approximately £48 billion.
A spokesperson at RBS said that ABN Amro brought "some jewels like the global payments services business, which is completely integral to global payments systems and requires an integrated common platform across many countries".
The bank is currently in dialogue with staff over the 700 cuts, and said it would keep compulsory redundancies to “an absolute minimum”.
Union Unite called the job cuts “a massive blow”. Most of those affected are in Edinburgh and London, it said.
Rob MacGregor, national officer, said: “Since the announcement by the bank in April that 4,500 people will be made redundant, staff across the company have been living with uncertainty about their future.”
Separately, he accused Lloyds Banking Group of “death by a thousand cuts”, after it announced this week it was cutting 650 jobs as its merger with HBOS continues.
“Staff must be told the company’s plans for the future of the organisation and not be left with the uncertainty that they could be the next to lose their jobs,” he said. A spokesperson at Lloyds said a number of roles were affected, but did not disclose the number of back office jobs.
Follow highlights from ComputerworldUK on Twitter
Sign up for our Daily Newsletter
The UK IT News widget Get it for your site!
« prev article | more careers & hr news | next article »
Advert
Email this article to a friend or colleague:
PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.
- This article is now being printed.
What are your views on this subject? Use the form below to post a comment on this article up to 1000 characters.
Click below to add 'Royal Bank of Scotland lays off hundreds of IT staff - People Management - ComputerworldUK' to your blog.
If you do not have a ComputerworldUK Account and would like to use this feature, please Register.
If you are a registered, logged-in user, this will post the title and first paragraph of this story to your blog to share with your readers.
Advert
Newsletters
Sign up to our Weekly Round-Up for the past week’s not-to-be-missed news analysis and insight delivered straight to your inbox.
WHITE PAPERS
-
Legal risks: Employee use of the internet and email
Exploring the challenges facing IT Mangers today and vital steps to ensure safe internet an email use by employees. -
Phishing for victims
This White Paper examines the phenomenon of phishing. It explains the potentially catastrophic threat it presents to all kinds of organisation. Exploding some widespread myths, it lights up the murky waters where phishing first emerged and where it continues to evolve. But it also highlights what your business can do to blunt the threat.
Comments received
Anon said on Thursday, 21 May 2009
As one of the IT staff within RBS who now faces redundancy after nearly two decades of loyal service I am left feeling numb and embittered. I have no great managerial aspirations and am a relatively low earner in a competitive market, yet here I am as more and more new senior directors & execs are announced wondering if I will still be in work at Christmas and how long it will be before I may be forced to sell my home. There is an un-easy feeling of a management top heavy structure still being in place and it seems (from this “current” employee’s perspective) that those at the top are ‘doing all right thank you very much’! So at least that's ok...
Sarah Allott said on Thursday, 21 May 2009
It is always the same. When will they cull the managers?
sad said on Thursday, 21 May 2009
What about Mike Errington (director of IT) ? He's overseen massive governance overheads which has created huge cost for the business. Now I understand they want to look at streamlining, efficencies blah blah. This guys been the IT Director surely this means he's got it very wrong and should be heading for the nearest exit ?
EtR said on Friday, 22 May 2009
Despite statements from management about their desire to avoid the misery of complusory redundancies, they won't allow all of us the opportunity to volunteer to go rather than others being made compulsory redundant....
RBS insider said on Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Come on, they are trying to balance the skills they want with the headcount that has to go. Do you think they want to pay out redundancy money?