Lloyds announces £3bn digitisation programme affecting more than 6000 jobs

The banking group, which includes Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows, says the move it part of a multi-billion pound technology investment programme.

According to a Sky News report, job cuts will come from a host of areas across the bank, while the new positions will be focused on the digital expansion.

Lloyds said some existing jobs would be refreshed and some new ones created, with staff being retrained.

Specifically, many of the new roles will be in Lloyds’ group transformation unit, which is tasked with a £3 billion, three year effort to transform the business into a “digitised, simple, low risk, customer focused, UK financial services provider”.

Lloyds said that 75 per cent of the new roles would be filled by existing staff, but that some specialist roles such as data scientists would come from outside.

Branches will be unaffected but its site in Gillingham, Kent will close.

Lloyds said: “This forms part of the £3bn commitment the group has made to invest heavily in its technology and people over the course of its three-year strategic plan.”

Lloyds has been shutting High Street outlets as more customers do their banking through apps or on the internet.

This year it earmarked more than 60 branches for closure, while in 2017 it closed 54 Lloyds branches, 24 from its Bank of Scotland brand and 22 belonging to the Halifax.