Bank giant to close its office on Tyneside

RETHINK AS MORE STAFF LOOKING TO WORK FROM HOME

SANTANDER is to close its office on Tyneside and shut two of its branches in the North East as it responds to new ways of working.

The banking giant is to shut the office it has at the Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside where around 450 people work. Almost all have been working from home during the pandemic and will now do so permanently.

Santander said it would keep a smaller office space at Gateshead Quays, while its site on Teesside will be retained but reduced in size.

The company has also announced the closure of its site on Gosforth High Street in Newcastle, and at Chester-leStreet in County Durham, among 111 branch closures around the UK.

Those are expected to shut by the end of August in response to the ongoing shift towards mobile and online banking.

The trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, although branch transactions fell by a third over the two years before the crisis and declined by a further 50% in 2020.

Most of the branches being closed are less than three miles from another Santander branch, and the furthest is five miles. The closures will leave a network of 452 branches, and Santander expects to find alternative roles for a significant number of staff affected.

Nathan Bostock, Santander UK CEO, said: “The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards greater flexible working, and our colleagues have told us this has brought significant benefits for many of them. At the same time, physical spaces remain very important and our sites around the UK will provide our colleagues with firstclass facilities fit for the future.”

Adam Bishop, head of branches at Santander, said: “Branch usage by customers has fallen over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.

“We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.”

The Communication Workers Union said it had reached a ground-breaking agreement on new ways of working that will preserve jobs and avoid compulsory redundancies.

National officer Sally Bridge said: “Recent membership surveys have indicated a desire from a large majority of those currently working from home for flexibility to continue after the pandemic, and this agreement achieves that for the majority of employees affected by these changes.

“Santander deserves credit for recognising its responsibilities to its employees and I hope other employers follow the moral lead the bank has taken in what is likely to be one of the first of many far-reaching corporate readjustments to the post-Covid world of work.”