Finance cuts 'hit recovery hopes'

Workers at RBS have felt the brunt of 2009 job cuts, Unite says.

Jobs axed by banks and insurance firms are denting their chances of recovering from recession, the union Unite says.

It said finance firms had cut about 20,000 jobs in the first four months of 2009 and the cull of skilled workers could jeopardise any future recovery.

Unite said its members were not the highly paid executives and traders that caused the economic meltdown.

Finance firms say job cuts are needed to reduce costs in the wake of huge losses brought on by the credit crunch.

About 4,500 members have been sacked at Royal Bank of Scotland, the union said, while Merrill Lynch has cut 1,900 jobs.

Barclays, Lloyds and Aviva are among the others to make heavy redundancies since the start of the year.

'Highly trained'

"Confidence in the sector can only be regained through the efforts of the vital staff in branches, processing and call centres up and down the country, said Unite's national officer Rob MacGregor.

"We are infuriated that banks and insurance companies are failing to recognise the damage that will be done to their businesses if they continue to simply slash thousands of staff each month.

"Nearly 20,000 job losses in the last four months represents a significant loss in the sector.

"The financial services industry must ensure that it protects its workforce in order to stand a chance of emerging from the current crisis.

"Without these highly trained and experienced people there is no chance that the UK will be able to rebuild its reputation for a world class industry."

Unite said it wanted the financial industry consider the "long-term implications of their short-term cost-saving plans".

"The herd mentality which has now gripped the sector in the race to cut staff will simply damage the UK economy," it claimed.