Northern Rock To Cut A Further 680 Jobs

Nationalised lender Northern Rock says it expects a further 680 job losses by the end of the year as it moves to drive down its costs.

The taxpayer-owned bank, which recently posted a £232.4m pre-tax loss for 2010, said the cuts are necessary as it tries to return to profit and prepare for sale into private ownership.

Fewer than 2,000 people will work for the bank following the latest job losses, compared to a workforce of 6,500 before the State bailout in 2008.

The company said it would try to minimise compulsory layoffs with a voluntary redundancy package.

UK Financial Investments, which manages the Government’s stake in the bank, recently appointed Deutsche Bank to advise it on options which may include a sale or flotation into private ownership.

Northern Rock was nationalised in February 2008, after the first run on a UK bank for more than 100 years.

From: News Sky