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Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a provider of life, home and car insurance, is reportedly embarking on a new cost-cutting move that could put thousands of jobs at risk.
The Financial Times reports that RBS is set to unveil a £800-million cost-cutting plan for 2017 as it announces its ninth consecutive annual loss at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, The Financial Express claims that the banking giant would slash up to £1 billion (US$1.25 billion) of annual operating costs.
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According to The Sunday Times, RBS chief executive Ross McEwan would announce the new cost-cutting plan, which is expected to include more branch closures and redundancies at the bank’s main offices in Edinburgh and London.
With the goal of cutting expenses, the state-backed company may be forced to let go of up to 15,000 jobs, the publication reported. An RBS spokesperson refused to recognise the figure.
“There’s not much left for RBS to do,” one analyst was quoted as saying in the report. “The only way they get more cost out is to cut jobs. Every £1bn of cost that you have to take out of a UK bank equates to roughly 10,000 jobs. That’s now a pretty clear formula.”
Analysts expect RBS to announce around £5 billion in losses with its full-year results on February 24, according to the report.
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