Royal Bank of Scotland cuts headcount by 3500

The Royal Bank of Scotland has today confirmed that 3500 jobs will go in the company's technical and back-office division mainly as a consequence of the sale of 318 high street branches to Spanish giant Santander. This is yet another blow for the Royal Bank of Scotland which has now shed 27,000 jobs since the company hit the buffers and was forced to go cap in hand to the UK government for significant bailout funding.

Even though the number of jobs shed so far has reached 27,000 it is estimated that the eventual figure, once all of the various reorganisations are complete, will be nearer 30,000. This is a company which was for some time one of the leading, if not the leading, banking institution in the world. The company acquired a massive array of overseas operations as the empire continued to grow and the company's influence reached all areas of the globe.

However, once the credit crunch hit home and it became apparent that the worldwide banking sector was in for a serious short-term shock Royal Bank of Scotland appeared to be more exposed than most. There are many who blame Sir Fred Goodwin for the eventual collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland although ultimately these people were not criticising his expansion plans when the share price was moving higher and higher!