Santander cuts 2,000 jobs as it closes 95 banks and reduced opening hours in big cost-cutting plan
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SANTANDER has revealed it has made more than 2,000 job cuts after it announced plans to close almost 100 bank branches.
The banking giant today reported a drop in its half-year profits.
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Santander has been implementing a major cost-cutting plan for this year
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It said it has been slashing its workforce and getting rid of locations as part of a major cost-cutting plan.
The plan is expected to continue throughout this year.
Santander said in March it would close 95 of its branches and reduce hours at another 50 sites.
Following the changes, Santander will have 290 full-service branches across the country.
It said at the time that roughly 750 jobs were at risk.
It comes as major banks cut down on the number of physical locations as more customers turn to online banking.
Traditional bricks and mortar banks have also faced stiff competition from online-only challenger banks.
These are often able to offer more favourable rates to customers due to their lower costs.
The Santander group announced last October it was axing more than 1,400 jobs across the UK bank in 2024.
It recently announced a £2.65billion deal to buy UK rival TSB, with the takeover expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026.
Santander's £130 Million Recovery: What You Need to Know
Mike Regnier, chief executive of Santander, said Banco Santander's the deal to buy TSB from Spanish rival Sabadell would speed up the bank's transformation.
He said: "In the first six months of 2025 we continued to build momentum in our strategy to become the best bank for customers in the UK by investing in technology and service, and improving our processes and efficiency.
"Banco Santander's recent agreement to acquire 100% of TSB from Sabadell accelerates our transformation, allowing us to enhance our customer proposition and invest more in innovative products and our digital offering.
"This is an excellent deal for customers, combining two strong and complementary banks."
Which branches have closed or are set to close?
Here is the list of branches that have shut or are shutting in the coming months:
Aberdare - 24 June
Arbroath - 17 June
Armagh - 1 July
Blackwood - 23 June
Blyth - 5 August
Bognor Regis - 14 July
Borehamwood - 1 July
Brecon - 25 June
Brixton - 11 August
Caernarfon - 7 July
Camborne - 7 July
Canvey Island - 5 August
Clacton - 16 June
Cleveleys - 23 June
Colne - 14 June
Colwyn Bay - 24 July
Crowborough - 23 July
Croydon - 16 June
Cumbernauld - 7 July
Didsbury - 8 July
Downpatrick - 6 August
Dungannon - 23 June
Edgware Road - 12 August
Eltham - 23 June
Exmouth - 15 July
Falmouth - 21 July
Farnham - 29 July
Felixstowe - 16 July
Finchley - 6 August
Fleet - 30 June
Formby - 11 August
Gateshead Metro - 16 June
Glasgow LDHQ - 24 June
Glasgow MX - 23 June
Greenford - 24 June
Hackney - 15 July
Hawick - 24 July
Herne Bay - 8 July
Hertford - 29 July
Holloway - 14 July
Holywell - 13 August
Honiton - 14 July
Kidderminster - 18 June
Kilburn - 17 June
Kirkby - 22 July
Launceston - 16 June
Louth - 17 June
Magherafelt - 24 June
Malvern - 2 July
Market Harborough - 1 July
Musselburgh - 30 June
New Milton - 28 July
Peterhead - 16 June
Plympton - 14 August
Portadown - 30 June
Pudsey - 28 July
Rawtenstall - 15 July
Ross-On-Wye - 30 July
Ruislip - 7 July
Rustington - 5 August
Saltcoats - 21 July
Seaford - 15 July
Shaftesbury - 23 July
Sidcup - 11 August
St Austell - 8 July
St Neots - 30 July
Stokesley - 31 July
Strabane - 23 July
Surrey Quays - 10 November
Swadlincote - 30 June
Tenterden - 7 July
Torquay - 17 June
Tottenham - 8 July
Whitley Bay - 6 August
Willerby - 13 August
Wimborne - 4 August
Wishaw, Date to be announced
Bexhill, Date to be announced
Billericay, Date to be announced
Dover, Date to be announced
Droitwich, Date to be announced
Dunstable, Date to be announced
East Grinstead, Date to be announced
Holyhead, Date to be announced
Ilkley, Date to be announced
Larne, Date to be announced
Lytham St Annes, Date to be announced
Maldon, Date to be announced
Morley, Date to be announced
North Walsham, Date to be announced
Redcar, Date to be announced
Saffron Walden, Date to be announced
Turriff, Date to be announced
Uckfield, Date to be announced
Urmston, Date to be announced.
What Santander shake-up means
Santander announced earlier this year that it would be carrying out major changes.
Some 95 branches will be shutting this year, while a further 36 branches have had their hours reduced, 18 will be counter-free, and five will be Work Cafes.
The new Work Cafe concept includes co-working spaces, superfast WiFi and dedicated event spaces which can be accessed for free.
Branches with reduced hours will be open on either Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 9.30am and 3pm, or Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.30am to 3pm and Saturdays 9.30am to 12.30pm.
The exception is the Caerphilly branch, which will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9.30am to 3pm.
The reduced hours began at the end of June.
Counter-free branches won't have the traditional banking teller behind a counter, but there will be Santander staff available.
The majority of services will still be available although customers will need to use the Post Office for transactions involving large cash withdrawals or coin.
Areas affected by branch closures will instead be served by "community bankers" who can provide "face-to-face money management and general support for customers, visiting local communities weekly, as well as attending local Banking Hubs".
Santander had said it would contact all potentially vulnerable customers affected by the closures by phone and try to find ways to help them.
There is also a dedicated phone number to provide customers with help and information on the closures.
To get more information, you can call 0330 678 2469.
Other banks closing branches
Santander isn't the only major bank closing branches this year.
Some 17 bank branches will be shutting their doors this August alone, while 423 branches already closed between January and this month.
A further 127 are expected to close between September and December.
According to consumer champion Which?, banks and building societies have closed 6,443 branches since January 2015, at a rate of around 53 closures each month.
NatWest Group, including NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, has closed the most, with 1,477 branches shut since 2015.
Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, shut 1,391 in the same period.
Barclays alone has reduced its network by 1,236 branches, the most for any individual bank.
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