Lloyds announces plans to axe jobs and close branches

Lloyds Bank Rochdale

Lloyds Banking Group, which has a branch in Rochdale and one in Heywood, has announced plans to axe 3,000 jobs and close 200 branches by the end of 2017, to save £400 million. 

It is not yet known if the local branches are amongst those that will close.

Lloyds doubled their profits to £2.5billion in the first six months of this year, up from £1.2billion for the previous six months.

The cuts have been attributed to changes in banking habits with customers preferring to use online services. The group has also warned a ‘deceleration of growth’ is likely, following in the wake of the EU referendum.

A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group said: “We’re not sure which branches this will affect; the branches themselves won’t know either.”