How many more jobs will go at Lloyds in Bristol?
Another 110 jobs have gone today at the Lloyds megaBank HQ in Bristol.
How many more? If you believe the man who blew the whistle on HBOS, there will be 20,000 jobs cut before this ends. Paul Moores, the controversial figure who claimed HBoS was run like a dodgy car boot sale, hails from Bristol and told me on the Politics Show West the cuts would be deep and savage.
5,000 people work for the superbank in Bristol. Waiting to meet one of them recently I had a nose through their staff newsletter. "We have lots of great operations", soothed the new man in charge of Group Operations, "but we often have two and only need one."
They've even got two buildings. Here they are - right next to each other on the harbourside.
Clerical Medical, once a proud Bristol-based insurer, has already had its chips. The brand will go, the Clevedon call centre will go. Today, 110 people who work on its marketing and finance desks in the HBOS tower in Bristol were told their jobs will go.
"Groundhog Day," the unions call it. But what can the managers do? Once the merger was sealed, the die was cast. Two IT systems? I think not. Two marketing teams for two insurance brands? No way.
And what of the customers? I was at a get-together of small businesses near Weston last night and several said we need more competition, not less. If you're looking for lenders all the foreigners have gone already, so rolling Lloyds, TSB, and Bank of Scotland all into one does no-one a service.
Can anyone see a way out? Or must we just grit our teeth and wait for another 12,000 jobs to go, perhaps 2,000 more in Bristol, before this merger is behind us.
Hello, I’m Dave Harvey – the BBC’s Business Correspondent in the West. If you’re making hay in the markets or combine harvesting; scratting cider apples or crunching tricky numbers – this is your blog too. 
Comment number 1.
At 17:26 16th Jul 2009, dannycox1 wrote:Financial services and the construction industry are big employers in Bristol and we have been hit badly by this recession. That said, the region's unemployment rate is curently better than most of the rest of the UK at 6.2% of the workforce (not much consolation for those losing their jobs). The private sector has been under the hammer but the public sector looks like it is next. Fortuntalty for the region, we do not have the same exposure as the likes of Newcastle, where public sector employment rates are amongst the highest. Nationally there will probably be another 600,000 added to the jobless figures over the next few months.
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Comment number 2.
At 10:09 17th Jul 2009, lordBeddGelert wrote:I assume that is Weston near Bath ??
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Comment number 3.
At 12:59 17th Jul 2009, stephenccampbell wrote:Hi Dave,
I run a Business Focussed radio programme on Ujima
Radio, I have been discussing some of these issues
and am interviewing various local business directors
(HSBC director next week). I would like to invite you
on to the show.
To discuss please get in touch and let me know if this
is of interest to you.
Thanks.
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Comment number 4.
At 03:08 18th Aug 2009, dennisjunior1 wrote:Dave:
Probably many more jobs, will be lost at Lloyds in Bristol...
=Dennis Junior=
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