Lloyds to cut a further 200 jobs

The job losses follow the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS last year

Lloyds Banking Group is to cut a further 200 jobs, taking the total job losses to 7,500 this year.

The cuts will come in the general insurance arm of Lloyds, which is 43%-owned by the government.

The announcement came week after the bank said it was reviewing its decision to close its Cheltenham & Gloucester subsidiary, possibly saving 833 jobs.

"We have no confidence in this bank's confused strategy," said Rob MacGregor of the union Unite.

Philip Loney, managing director of Lloyds General Insurance unit said, "We recognise that this is difficult news for our affected colleagues."

"We are committed to working through these changes with our colleagues carefully and sensitively and will seek to use natural turnover and redeployment wherever possible."

'Soul destroying'

The cuts will come in the insurance unit's offices in Newport, South Wales and West Yorkshire.

"This steady stream of announcements and cuts is soul destroying for the workforce at this state-owned bank and it must end," Mr MacGregor said.

On 30 June, Lloyds said it would cut 2,100 jobs over the next three years and it also announced the closure of all Cheltenham & Gloucester branches in the same month, a decision that it has since decided to review.

Lloyds has been struggling since it bought HBOS last September. HBOS made a loss in 2008 of almost £11bn and the two banks together are expected to make a loss this year.

Lloyds has previously said it had created 1,200 new roles since January.