The Co-operative Bank is planning to lay off 350 employees and shutter 18 branches, becoming the latest casualty in a series of bank restructurings during the COVID-19 crisis.
The British lender pointed to the Bank of England's record-low interest rates and declining depositor volume as the culprit behind its cost-cutting campaign.
Over 187,000 staff across a host of businesses in Europe will be affected by redundancy or have already ended their employment contracts in the last few months as the COVID-19 crisis pummels every sector of the economy.
The jobs that will be lost are mostly in the middle management unit and main branches, the bank said, adding the three West Midlands branches that will cease operations are in Walsall, Solihull and Halesowen. A redeployment of staff would be made where possible, it added.
According to chief executive officer Andrew Bester, Co-operative Bank is not invulnerable to the ill effects of the pandemic and other recent developments in the global market. And with an unprecedented drop in interest rates, Bester said it is crucial for the group to cut costs and apply the appropriate operating model in order to survive.
In a statement on Tuesday, Bester lauded the hard work and commitment of their employees to clients in the last few months, saying they are "very sorry" to announce the news of the job cuts.
The ongoing pandemic has also resulted in more people opting to do online banking and make fewer visits to the bank to make transactions, Bester explained.
Bester also noted that they are responding to the new trend of online banking attracting a huge following, with a decreasing amount of transactions in physical branches across the financial sector.
Customers that will be affected by the closures will be notified about their options including postal services, communication and new digital banking offerings.
Meanwhile, NatWest announced earlier that it was considering laying off 550 employees, as they also respond to the evolving banking landscape particularly customer behavior and the increasing demand for online banking.
