LLOYDS Banking Group is to axe more than 1,000 jobs and switch other work to new employers.

The company said the 1,080 job losses will be in its retail, risk, operations and commercial banking divisions, while 310 roles will move to other employers.

Lloyds said the cuts were part of reductions previously announced.

The Unite union attacked the announcement, saying workers at the taxpayer-supported bank would be devastated.

Almost 35,000 jobs have been lost at Lloyds since 2008, said Unite.

National officer Rob MacGregor said: "While staff at Lloyds Banking Group continue to work hard to deliver half-year profits of £2.1bn, management has confirmed it is to give 1,390 staff another kick.

"Some 1,080 employees of the bank will today learn that the company that they have worked tirelessly to turn around is rewarding them with a P45.

"Lloyds Banking Group is well on the road to recovery, with the chief executive being recently rewarded handsomely with a share bonus in the region of £2.5 million, yet staff are being made redundant.

"Unite will continue to oppose these job losses and has sought an urgent meeting with Lloyds to outline the unions concerns. Unite remains adamant that, as the bank continues to align its recovery to the UKs economic recovery, it is totally unacceptable that it persists in putting pressure on the public purse by making hundreds of jobs redundant on a bi-monthly basis."

Lloyds said it was committed to working through the changes with employees in a careful and sensitive way, adding: "All affected employees have been briefed by their line manager today.

"The group's policy is always to use natural turnover and to redeploy people wherever possible to retain their expertise and knowledge within the group.
Where it is necessary for employees to leave the company, it will look to achieve this by offering voluntary redundancy.

"Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort. In fact, since the Strategic Review in 2011, around only a third of role reductions have led to people leaving the group through redundancy."

The bank said it was creating 90 jobs across retail, risk and commercial banking.