Santander puts 750 jobs at risk under branch closure plans

The banking giant said it was closing the branches in June, and also cutting hours across 36 sites as well as switching 18 to become counter-free.

Around 750 jobs are at risk of redundancy at Santander UK as the high street lender announced another 95 branch closures and sweeping changes across its network.

The Spanish-owned banking giant said it was shutting the branches from June, while also cutting hours across 36 sites and switching 18 to be counter-free in moves impacting on more than a third of its 444-strong network.

Santander said it will be left with 349 branches after the overhaul, which will include 290 full-service sites as well as five so-called work cafes.

The changes will put about 750 jobs at risk – more than 4% of its 18,000 UK workforce – if the plans get the go ahead after consultations with unions, the bank said.

The majority of the planned redundancies are related to the branch closures, but about 12% of the cuts are because of the reduced-hour proposals.

It comes in response to customers increasingly switching to online banking, with a 63% surge in digital transactions since 2019 while branch transactions have slumped by 61% in that time, according to the firm.

A Santander UK spokesman said: “As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future.

“Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside work cafes, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance.”

He added: “Closing a branch is always a very difficult decision and we spend a great deal of time assessing where and when we do this and how to minimise the impact it may have on our customers.”

Santander said that from June 30, the majority of the reduced-hours branches will be open just three days a week – either Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.30am to 3pm, or Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am to 3pm and Saturdays from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

It will change 18 sites to being counter-free branches from June 16, but stressed they will also be manned by staff to offer face-to-face support, with an average of eight workers in these branches.

The group will be recruiting 95 new community bankers in the locations where it is shutting branches and hopes to redeploy some of the affected workers into these jobs.

It comes after the firm shut 111 branches in 2021 – around a fifth of its network at the time – as part of its last major network review.

Santander said that 18 new banking hubs will need to be launched to serve local areas across the UK following its branch changes.

Banking hubs are set up by Cash Access UK, which is funded by UK lenders, including Santander.

“To support the changes, Santander will be proactively contacting all potentially vulnerable customers by phone and will assist those customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank that best suit their needs,” Santander said.

Jenny Ross, money editor at consumer group Which?, warned Santander’s branch closures will “come as a real blow to many customers”.

She said: “Schemes introduced by the banking industry to protect these services, such as banking hubs, are a good start in plugging gaps left by closing physical branches, but they must be rolled out much more quickly if consumers are to feel their benefits.

“The government must hold banks’ feet to the fire to ensure the commitments they’ve made to set up 350 hubs by 2029 are met – and should be prepared to review the target upwards if necessary.”

By Press Association