On Wednesday, LBG issued a statement that revealed plans to cut 1,340 jobs as part of the 9,000 role reductions announced in October 2014.

Rob MacGregor, national officer at Unite, Britain’s biggest union, said: “These announcements to staff across Lloyds Banking Group are horrific news for staff.

“1,340 job losses within this taxpayer-backed institution are wholly unacceptable.

“…Unite will oppose all job losses and challenge senior management to ensure all those affected by this latest round of announcements [will] be offered alternative suitable employment.”

Rob alleged that the Lloyds management pursuit of the cuts agenda was counter-productive in their aim of a successful business.

He added: “The constant flow of job cuts across LBG must now be halted and staff be allowed to get on with delivering the high-quality and impressive service they are so good at providing.”

The losses are within LBG’s group operations, retail, customer products and marketing, finance and risk divisions.

Despite the cuts, LBG revealed that it would be creating 110 new roles across the business areas facing reductions.

There will be no branch, head office or back office site closures as a result of the reduction strategy.

A spokesperson for LBG said: “This process involves taking difficult decisions, and we are committed to working through these changes in a careful and sensitive way.”

LBG stated that its policy was always to use natural turnover and to redeploy staff wherever possible.

The spokesperson continued: “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.”

The group claimed that all affected employees had been briefed by their line manager and that both Unite and Accord – the specialist trade union for staff in financial services – were consulted prior to the announcement.