Lloyds Banking Group call centre in Bridgend 'to close'

Lloyds Banking Group is to close a call centre in Bridgend that employs 700 people, but says it will offer staff jobs at other sites.

Lloyds said the closure next spring was part of its decision to reduce its number of offices.

Staff will be redeployed mainly to Lloyds' Cardiff office, but also Swansea and Newport.

David Fleming, Unite national officer, said: "This decision will devastate the local workforce in Bridgend."

The contact centre is at the Pencoed business park, and once employed 850 staff.

Lloyds said the decision to offer staff jobs elsewhere was "part of a policy to retain expertise and knowledge within the group".

"Employees will be offered a range of support to help them settle into their new offices before the end of March 2012, when the Bridgend office is due to close," said Lloyds in a statement.

"Lloyds Banking Group is committed to working through these changes with employees in a careful and sensitive way."

The union said when the Bridgend site opened, there was a "significant commitment to the community and the bank secured a grant to this end".

Closing down

"This withdrawal smacks of hypocrisy and makes a mockery of the statements made by the new CEO, Antonio Horta-Osorio, to support the bank's communities and customers," said Mr Fleming.

"Unite is working with the bank to maximise redeployment opportunities to Cardiff, Newport, and Swansea for the Bridgend staff, but this will in no way deflect the pain of those who have today been told that their workplace is closing down."

The union said 300 other posts were being cut across Lloyds.

Lloyds last month reported a £3.47bn loss for the first three months of the year after setting aside £3.2bn to cover potential payment protection insurance mis-selling claims.

It made a £721m profit a year ago.