HUNDREDS of Scottish jobs are at risk after state-backed Lloyds banking group confirmed plans to shed 9,000 jobs across the UK.
The move is part of a restructuring which will result in a net loss of 150 high street branches as the banking giant, which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland, adapts to increasing demand for digital and online services.
A spokeswoman for the company said they had no breakdown at present on how many posts and branches would face the axe north of the Border. The group employs about 16,000 staff in Scotland.
However, bosses insisted they would maintain current numbers of Halifax branches and add three new Lloyds sites in Scotland, where it currently has only three high street branches.
They added that more than 90 per cent of Lloyds and Bank of Scotland customers would continue to have a "useable branch" within five miles of their home.
Lloyds will invest in remote advice services for customers who will increasingly be expected to use online banking or self-service facilities within branches instead of dealing with staff face to face.
Confirmation of the cuts - details of which were leaked last week - came as the group announced a 41 per cent rise in underlying profits for the third quarter to £2.2 billion. Bosses also said they remained confident of plans to resume dividend payments after six years.
Bottom line pre-tax profits were £751 million, with an additional £900m set aside to pay for the payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal.
Three years ago Lloyds pledged to keeping total branch numbers at the same level but now says the commitment has expired.
Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said: "Over the last three years the successful delivery of our strategy has ensured that we have become a safe, highly efficient, UK-focused retail and commercial bank. The next phase of our strategy will use these strong foundations as a basis for meeting the rapidly-changing needs of our customers, and sets out how we will grow the business in a way that will deliver increasing and sustainable returns for our shareholders."
Rob MacGregor, national officer of the Unite union, said: "These are deeply unsettling times for Lloyds staff, who after days of speculation and leaks face yet another round of job cuts and a future of uncertainty.
"Job cuts of approximately 10 per cent could have unknown consequences on customer service and will put even more pressure on staff who have helped get the bank back on the right track.
"The wallets of top executives at Lloyds should not be getting fat by forcing low-paid workers on to the dole. If there are compulsory redundancies or customer service suffers then executive pay should be cut."
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