Santander will close 111 branches in the UK by the end of August

Spain’s Santander Bank announced, Thursday, that it will close 111 branches in the United Kingdom by the end of August, in response to the change in direction. Noticed in their customers towards mobile banking and the Internet.

The pace of this new trend has accelerated in recent months due to the Coronavirus pandemic, despite the decrease in transactions executed in offices by a third in the past two years, Ahead of the health crisis, another 50% slump in 2020, the bank said in a statement.

On the other hand, transactions are done using mobile phones and over the Internet By 20% every yearAnd nearly two-thirds of it is now digital.

After the announced closure, Santander You will remain with a branch network of 452 officesAlthough the bank indicated that it hopes to find alternative roles for a large number of employees who will be affected by this measure.

“Customer use of branches has decreased dramatically in recent years, so We have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple offices relatively close to each other.Adam Bishop, Head of Santander Branches, explained.

Layoffs ‘inevitable’

Bishop assured that the entity would provide Closed branches customer support, In order to “find alternative ways of interacting with us that suit your individual needs.”

“We are also working with our unions in order to Supporting colleagues who are undergoing these changes Finding alternative roles for those affected wherever possible. “

The director confirmed that the entity still believed the branches to be operating “important role” They are confident that the size of their network “will continue to be stable in the near future”.

For its part, the Telecommunications Workers Union indicated that it had reached an agreement with Santander on new ways of working that would preserve jobs and avoid forced dismissal that might otherwise be, “no way”.

Sally Bridge, of the aforementioned union group, told local media that there was a “desire on the part of the vast majority of those who are currently working from home for more flexibility after the end of the pandemic, and this agreement achieves that for the majority. Of workers affected by these changes.” .