Royal Bank of Scotland announced today that it is cutting 1,400 jobs in the latest round of redundancies since it was bailed out by the taxpayer.

Edinburgh-based RBS said the positions would be axed over the next two years as part of plans to restructure its retail head office functions in the UK. It said "customer-facing" staff would not be affected.

The beleaguered bank, 81% owned by the state, has already slashed thousands of jobs since it was rescued at the height of the financial crisis.

More than 40% of staff affected are based in Edinburgh and the vast majority of the remainder in London, with some in smaller centres such as Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol.

Around 700 staff across the country were being told today that their jobs were under threat, in the first phase of the cuts.

The changes affect support staff for the bank's retail arm including those working in communications, marketing and customer analytics.

RBS says it is refocusing resources on "things that matter most" to customers with branch refurbishments and investment in mobile and online services.

Dominic Hook of the Unite union said: "This is brutal and irresponsible behaviour from RBS which is almost entirely owned by the taxpayer. It is high time that the banks took social responsibilities seriously."

He said that with the bank returning to profit after it made £826 million in the first quarter of the year, there was no business case "for cutting jobs so drastically".

"RBS argues that the restructure will make the bank more customer-focused but a bank can't be more customer-focused with 1,400 fewer staff.

"Unite is demanding no compulsory redundancies and we expect this state-owned bank to do everything to ensure this is the case."

Unite said two departments providing support to frontline staff were being cut by 80%. It said that since 2008 the bank had cut more than 30,000 employees.

Ross McEwan, chief executive of the bank's UK retail arm, said: "To serve our customers well we have to ensure that our resources are focused on the things that matter most to them.

"That is why we are investing £700 million in the next three years in new and improving services.

"Regrettably, we can only do that by restructuring the way we work in head office so that every effort is concentrated on supporting our customers and the frontline staff that serve them.

"This is clearly difficult news for our staff and we will do everything we can to support them, including seeking redeployment opportunities wherever possible to ensure compulsory redundancies are a last resort."

Chairman Sir Philip Hampton warned earlier this week at the company's annual general meeting that changes were needed to put the business "in the right shape" which could mean "further impacts on employees".

The bank has faced anger over £607 million bonuses for executives amid annual losses of £5.2 billion, though it recently swung back into the black with quarterly profits of £826 million.

It has been dogged by a succession of problems incuding a £390 million settlement for rate-fixing, a £1.1 billion provision for mis-selling and a £175 million IT fiasco.

Today's announcement comes in the wake of a number of other banks slashing UK staff.

Unite said that, since the beginning of the year RBS, HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds have announced plans to slash around 6,900 jobs.

"The industry almost caused the economy to implode in 2008 and now it is contributing to a jobs crisis," said Mr Hook.

Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, Ken Macintosh said: "This is a massive blow to the RBS workforce and the banking sector in Edinburgh generally. Those at the bottom are still being punished for the sins of those at the top. It worries me that this number of job losses is taking place while the bank is still publicly owned, so there is a real concern about what will happen to jobs if RBS is privatised again, which the Prime Minister has just said he is considering. 

“Coming just a day after the First Minister clapped himself on the back for falling numbers of unemployment; I can only hope that each individual receives the support and guidance they require to remain active in the job market.”

Meanwhile, HSBC is reportedly now looking at further cost-cutting measures that could see up to 14,000 more roles go across its global business.

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "This is disappointing news for those involved and will be a deeply worrying time for those staff affected and their families.

"The Scottish Government will do everything we can to provide support and help to those affected by job losses in Scotland through the Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce and our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (Pace).

"The Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce has a track record of support for those who want to continue their career in the financial services sector, matching their skills with the needs of other firms in the city. The most recent Pace follow-up survey found that 74% were securing work post-redundancy.

"Both Pace and the Taskforce have been in contact with RBS and stand ready to provide any assistance they can to minimise the impact on affected staff.

"The confirmation that RBS will be reinvesting in Edinburgh as a vital centre for retail banking, including through their innovation centre and updated IT systems, is a welcome commitment to Scotland.

"This £175 million investment in Scotland, over the next three years, will significantly enhance our position as one of the main IT hubs for the global RBS Group and make Scotland the bank's global centre for mobile banking and its global payments hub."