London: Britain's largest state-owned bank Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to cut some 160 jobs in the UK and offshore around 60 of them to India. RBS has been cutting back its retail operations and the latest job cuts are also part of wider cost-cutting measures. According to Unite the Union, which represents the bank's staff, around 60 back-office roles are to be moved to India.
"We will do everything we can to support staff, including seeking redeployment opportunities wherever possible and ensuring that compulsory redundancies are kept to a minimum," the Edinburgh-headquartered bank said in a statement. "These changes will mean our relationship management teams can do things more effectively and efficiently and provide the best service to our customers," it added.
However, the union is furious at the job cuts and said it is "challenging the British taxpayer backed bank over the impact this cost cutting exercise will have on customer service, and the justification for offshoring work".
"Experienced and skilled staff which service the business customer relations teams will today be devastated by news that their jobs could be lost. "It is a further insult that Royal Bank of Scotland, as a taxpayer backed bank, will be sending 60 roles which are being done in the UK offshore to India," said Unite national officer Rob Macgregor.
"The roles impacted today are vital to the service business customers enjoy with local support teams and Unite has a real concern that such a loss will be detrimental to customer service," he added. Staffs are expected to be leaving between May and August 2015 from across 54 locations in the UK.
