Edinburgh-based Royal Bank of Scotland plans to axe over 1,400 jobs during its next round of layoffs. The troubled financial services firm is currently 81 percent owned by taxpayers after it was bailed out at the peak of the 2008 financial crisis.
The job cuts are one of several major decisions aimed at returning RBS to health in order to sell the bank back to private investors. RBS has reduced its workforce over the last four years in order to limit expenses and return the bank to profitability.
David Cameron has weighed in on the bank’s decision to cut costs, stating that the end goal of the layoffs is to make RBS a viable private business once again. The jobs that have been removed were primarily administrative positions in RBS’s offices.
The bank plans to restructure its UK-based retail banking business and will slowly cut back its employment numbers over the next two years. The move is one part of RBS’s long-term plan to return to its pre-crisis financial position.
Despite its unique financial situation, RBS isn’t the only bank engaging in sizable layoffs. Global banking giant HSBC is considering cutting its workforce by 14,000 due to the increasing regulatory costs of operating its business in certain markets.
The large bank would focus heavily on Asian investments, aiming to earn more from a market that’s historically been it’s top performer. The East Asian banking giant has over 260,000 employees currently, making it one of the world’s largest banks.
Chief executive Stuart Gulliver claimed that the job cuts were one of several moves aimed at making HSBC more ‘ready to take advantage of growth opportunities. The bank recently reported earnings of $8.4 billion during the first quarter of 2013.
