Lloyds cuts nearly 4,000 jobs since being

The bank’s efficiency and modernisation drive has continued apace since it was taken off the public books in May 2017, with Lloyds saying a business overhaul and reduction of its branch network is essential to ensure it stays relevant amid a digital shift.

It has also meant the announced loss off around 3,899 job on a gross basis, according to numbers compiled by the Press Association.

The figure includes jobs lost to bank branch closures and decisions by Lloyds to outsource workers.

The lender is also set to create a raft of new positions, but not all staff will have the skills required to fill jobs - some of which require digital engineering and design experience.

When balancing out for jobs created, Lloyds has flagged plans to slash 819 positions in the year and half since it was taken fully private in May 2017.

The privatisation came nine years after the Government spent £20.3 billion of taxpayers’ cash to bail it out at the height of the financial crisis. At its peak, Lloyds was 43% owned by the state.

Just a month after leaving public hands, Lloyds announced it was getting rid of 252 jobs at its Dundee call centre amid a plans for a new site, about 23 miles away in Fife where it planned to base just 230 staff.

In September it said it would outsource 1,000 jobs to Diligenta, affecting staff in Edinburgh and Bristol.

By November the lender announced it was cutting 99 jobs as it was shuttering 49 branches under its Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds brands.

A shake-up across five of its divisions meant slashing another 465 jobs, with the lion’s share impacting upon commercial banking, the chief information office, risk, community banking, insurance and wealth.