Hundreds of jobs are to be lost in North Bristol following the announcement by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) that it is to close its office on the Aztec West Business Park by the end of 2012.
The state-backed bank has confirmed that 330 jobs are to go, although the Unite union claims the figure is closer to 440 because scores of temporary contractors employed at the site will also be affected.
The cuts are part of 3,500 job losses announced last year, which the union described at the time as a “horror story”.
Unite said the state-backed lender’s decision to close its Bristol site as part of a “strategic review” by RBS of its customer support operations would cause “devastation” to the local community and that the bank should rethink the move.
David Fleming, from the union, told the BBC:
“Unite has expressed to the Royal Bank of Scotland its frustration about the bank’s decision to close its site in Bristol and also make another 440 staff cuts from its customer support operations.”
“The Aztec West site is the second site closure announced by RBS in the South West, as the Plymouth site is also closing.”
A spokesman for RBS, which is is more than 80% owned by the taxpayer, said:
“We identified the sites that would close over the next two years and committed to giving our employees 12 months’ notice of the closures.
“We will do all we can to support our employees, offer redeployment opportunities wherever possible and to keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum.”
Read more: Bristol RBS site to close with loss of hundreds of jobs (BBC)
Related link: Jobs in Patchway (The Journal)
Aztec West has moved from Patchway to Bradley Stoke if a press report circulating today is to be believed:
Conservative Councillor Ben Walker represents Bradley Stoke North, where the Bristol RBS site is located, on South Gloucestershire Council.
He said those who made the decision had shown “zero consideration” for staff and their families in making the decision so close to Christmas. “It is utterly disgusting. Although they claim they announced it 12 months ago the fact is that the timing could not be worse for anyone,” he said.