RBS to cut up to 9,000 jobs

To do so we need to cut our costs,as in all businesses,given the current recession. Unfortunately that means taking difficult decisions about jobs as well as taking many other cost reduction actions. The bank said compulsory redundancies would be a last resort and said the overall impact of the job cuts would be lessened because of natural workforce turnover and a reduction in the number of temporary staff.

Even so,union leaders reacted angrily to the news,with Rob MacGregor,national officer of the Unite trade union,saying the union was appalled that thousands of people,who form the backbone of the RBS operations,are to be made redundant. These employees are totally blameless for the current position which RBS is in,yet they are paying for the mistakes at the top of the bank.

RBS,ravaged by the credit crunch and the 2007 takeover of Dutch group ABN Amro at the top of the market,said in a statement that investors bought just 0.7 per cent of new shares which left the government to pick up the tab.