CO Operative Bank Cutting 400 Jobs

jameseonline

I thought CO Operative Bank was already bad
https://www.gbnews.com/money/co-operative-bank-jobs-cut

Zanderman

All banks have cut staff, branches etc in recent years, why does that make Coop Bank particularly bad? The only real solution would be for customers to use branches like they used to, i.e. use staff not just apps and IT,  and then the banks would find they needed more, not fewer, staff. As it is they spend more on IT (as the story from today confirms) and require fewer staff.

The story is, btw, on all major news outlets.  Here's a longer, more informative piece:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/26/co-operative-bank-jobs-cut-costs-takeover-coventry-building-society.  Which says, inter alia:

The Co-operative Bank said the cuts were part of “next phase of its transformation plan”, having spent the past three years trying to “simplify and transform” the lender and create a business that would deliver sustainable growth. That included spending £100m on a new IT system.

“Today, we have announced a series of changes across the bank which are essential for the delivery of the next phase of the strategic plan,” the lender said in a statement.

“These include the commencement of a consultation on a proposed operating model restructure which is expected to result in a net reduction of approximately 400 roles (12%) across the bank,” the statement added.

“The decision has not been made lightly, and the bank will continue to work closely with our trade union and to support impacted colleagues.”

And here's an example of the same issue 4 years ago. This is simply a trend with banks, especially those with branches:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/aug/25/co-operative-bank-to-cut-350-jobs-and-close-18-branches-across-uk-covid-19

tacpot12

So clearly their strategic plan is to make the bank smaller, and less relevant until it becomes unsustainable. 

wmb194

tacpot12 said:

So clearly their strategic plan is to make the bank smaller, and less relevant until it becomes unsustainable. 

It's struggled for a long time but the ultimate aim is to sell it so trimming here and there might help. I'm not sure whether they're still ongoing but it was in talks with Coventry Building Society.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/21/co-operative-bank-in-merger-talks-with-coventry-building-society

Bridlington1

wmb194 said:

tacpot12 said:

So clearly their strategic plan is to make the bank smaller, and less relevant until it becomes unsustainable. 

It's struggled for a long time but the ultimate aim is to sell it so trimming here and there might help. I'm not sure whether they're still ongoing but it was in talks with Coventry Building Society.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/21/co-operative-bank-in-merger-talks-with-coventry-building-society

As far as I know its still ongoing:
https://news.sky.com/story/jp-morgan-sent-to-coventry-as-co-operative-bank-deal-nears-13088358

Section62

wmb194 said:

tacpot12 said:

So clearly their strategic plan is to make the bank smaller, and less relevant until it becomes unsustainable. 

It's struggled for a long time but the ultimate aim is to sell it so trimming here and there might help. I'm not sure whether they're still ongoing but it was in talks with Coventry Building Society.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/21/co-operative-bank-in-merger-talks-with-coventry-building-society

...could even be a condition of the sale that the 'bad news' stuff is done and out of the way so the buyer doesn't have to deal with the negative publicity.  Arguably it could be seen as good for the organisation and staff left unscathed if the negative events are cleared out of the way before a sale, leaving the new owners with only the positives going forward.

Coventry (say) buying Coop Bank and then immediately sacking 400 staff would not look good for either organisation.

jameseonline

I'm just wondering if CO Operative Bank's strategic plan is Coventry taking over tbh.

If not what could it possibly be?

Section62

jameseonline said:

I'm just wondering if CO Operative Bank's strategic plan is Coventry taking over tbh.

If not what could it possibly be?

Nationwide taking it over instead?

jameseonline

Section62 said:

jameseonline said:

I'm just wondering if CO Operative Bank's strategic plan is Coventry taking over tbh.

If not what could it possibly be?

Nationwide taking it over instead?

Nah Nationwide can't take over everything 🤣

subjecttocontract

Who cares ?...well obviously the 400 staff and their families who will be affected. But me ?.....I couldnt care less in spite of having a bank account, insurance and savings with them. Their demise wouldn't affect me greatly although I've had an account with them for years I doubt I would miss them.

I have no loyalty with any bank or building society. I'm driven by what they have to offer at the time. There are plenty of other banks around. Unless they are lowering interest rates of removing benefits currently being provided it really doesn't matter a jot.

[Deleted User]

jameseonline said:

I'm just wondering if CO Operative Bank's strategic plan is Coventry taking over tbh.

If not what could it possibly be?

The only one left to take them over or merge with is TSB.
Unless they did a ménage à trois with Nationwide and VM.