Another 111 Santander branches to be axed

840 jobs at risk, 5,000 to work at home

SANTANDER is to close another 111 branches, hitting communities across the country.

The banking giant blamed the move on fewer customers attending in person because of a shift to online banking.

It means Santander will have closed down 470 branches since 2015 and will be left with 452.

Around 840 staff are affected but Santander will try to find them other jobs within the business.

Before yesterday’s news banks or building societies had closed or announced plans to shut down 4,188 branches since January 2015, around 50 a month, according to Which?

The consumer group’s Gareth Shaw said: “Shutting branches has a significant impact on those who still rely on them for essential banking services like withdrawing cash, particularly if they are vulnerable.”

Santander said most affected branches were within three miles of another, and the furthest was five miles.

Head of branches Adam Bishop said: “Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.”

Santander also announced it will close four offices where staff have been working from home during the pandemic.

They include its historic base at Bootle on Merseyside, which had been scheduled for a £75million redevelopment before the plans were put on hold in September.

This site dates back to 1968 when it was the National Girobank.

The other three closing by the end of the year are in North Tyneside, London and Manchester.

Around 5,000 staff will be offered new “dual location” arrangements, combining working from home with access to “local spaces” .

The Communication Workers Union said it had reached agreement with Santander to avoid compulsory redundancies that would otherwise have been “inevitable”.

National officer Sally Bridge said: “Recent surveys have indicated a desire from a large majority currently working from home for flexibility to continue.”