Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Nationwide reveals 500 jobs at risk in shake-up
NATIONWIDE has said around 500 workers are at risk of redundancy as part of an overhaul of head office operations at the Swindon-based building society.
The firm, which is led by Debbie Crosbie, said the redundancy consultation is part of a “streamlining” to improve efficiency and help it direct investment to other parts of the business.
Swindon-based Nationwide said it ultimately expects 200 workers to leave, following a process which will seek to find workers new roles.
The company, which has its headquarters on Piper’s Way in the Wiltshire town, said “customer-facing colleagues” will not be affected by the shake-up, as it reiterates its commitment to running branches across the country.
It is understood the building society will not move roles offshore as part of the changes to the head office.
A spokesman for Nationwide, which employs about 13,000 people in total, said: “Our strategy is to give customers greater value, better products and a distinctive customer experience.
“To do this our systems and operations must be best-in-class and we need to be more agile and efficient.
“We are streamlining some of our head office teams and expect around 200 people to leave the society.
“This will enable us to increase investment in the value and service we provide our customers. We have worked hard to keep the number of affected colleagues to a minimum and are ensuring we provide the right support for those impacted.”
The move also comes a day after Nationwide said it was rescinding its “work anywhere policy” and requiring staff to return to the office for at least two days a week for full-time employees from early next year.
The Nationwide Staff Union told the BBC that an earlier return to the office one day per week had “been challenging for many employees”.
It said that some staff had moved away from their base since they were allowed to work anywhere and others had to rearrange childcare arrangements.
The building society traces its history back to 1884 when it was founded as the Southern Co-operative Building Society.