A Bank Now Announces Massive Layoffs and Branch Closures

February 7, 2024

Updated on February 9, 2024

A bank now announces massive layoffs and branch closures, part of a plan to cut costs and save at least £200m, source report.

Virgin Money has now warned of more upcoming job losses as it sets to close another string of bank branches to cut costs.

Britain’s sixth-biggest lender, which pays Sir Richard Branson to use the Virgin name, said it cut 150 full-time roles in its first quarter and expects “further reductions in [full-time employees] during the year” as it races to save £200m in yearly expenses, reports Yahoo Finance.

The bank had hoped to capitalize on the Virgin brand and snap market share from bigger rivals such as Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest by being “not a very banky brand”, with its branches known to host yoga mornings and music concerts.

However, it’s non-traditional events have faltered, causing the bank to struggle to compete with the much larger lenders.

Virgin Money told investors on Tuesday that as well as job cuts over its first quarter it has closed 39 branches and reduced its office footprint by 35pc.

The company did not however disclose further details about the job cuts.

The bank layoffs are not uncommon.

A number of companies in the finance industry have announced layoffs this year in the face of rising pressure to strip out costs, such as by closing bank branches and moving customers online.

Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Metro Bank have all unveiled plans to cut jobs amid increased automation in banking.

And in the states, banks such as Trustco, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Fifth Third Bank, and PNCBank have already made headlines for their workforce reductions.

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Also Read: A Massive US Bank is Now Closing Credit Cards

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A business owner now loses a whopping $172K from his bank account after his money was drained by hackers, sources report.

Joshua Capps, of Alabama, said he’s been hit hard by the ordeal and is fighting to get the funds reimbursed.

Capps revealed that his iPhone had been hacked and fraudsters were able to access his Notes app, where he stored his bank passwords, according to local ABC affiliate WBMA-LD.

“Never in a million years did I think somebody would get access,” he told the outlet earlier this week.

“I had $172,000 boom, vanish.”

His bank, Regions, then sent verification codes to his number, which meant they were in the hands of the scammers.

An FBI probe traced the fraudster to Arizona, where it was found that they had deposited the stolen funds into three banks, including Chase and Wells Fargo.

Capps, a roofer, hopes he will be able to be reimbursed with around $100,000 of the amount that disappeared from his Regions account.

The bank has recommended how customers can protect their data.

Passwords should be tricky to guess and confidential data shouldn’t be sent via email.

Banks will never call customers asking for one-time verification codes, usernames, or passwords.

Fraudsters are known for tactics designed to panic unsuspecting customers into wiring money.

But some scammers might sound demanding, while others might have a convincing tone, reports The-Sun.

Jack Batz, from Illinois, revealed a fraudster, purporting to be a Chase employee, sounded convincing before he was swindled out of thousands.

These are tactics designed to trick victims.

Regions warned that scams from fraudsters purporting to be banks have become common.

Jessica Small, from Boston, lost almost $40,000 after receiving a text message she thought was from Bank of America.

Customers should also keep an eye out for scams that contain odd links and spelling and grammar errors.

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Also Read: A US Bank is Now Denying Customers Access to Money

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