In a bid to strengthen its financial position, Metro Bank has announced workforce reductions. The bank is planning to reduce its workforce by 20 per cent along with a few customer benefits.
On Thursday, November 30, 2023, the bank revealed about the job cuts as part of its extensive cost-cutting strategy. The bank is also eliminating its seven-day opening hours, as part of the restructuring.
The bank anticipates incurring a one-time restructuring charge in 2023 that is lower than initially projected, falling within the range of £10 million to £15 million. As per its most recent annual report, the financial institution has approximately 4,000 employees.
Later in the day, the bank announced the successful issuance of new bail-in debt, referred to as MREL, and the completion of its debt refinancing, thereby concluding the entire transaction. Following this announcement and the earlier release of the cost-cutting plan, Metro Bank’s shares experienced a 3.1 per cent increase at 1555 GMT. The implementation of the cost-cutting measures is scheduled to be finalised in the first quarter of 2024.
Recently, the bank obtained shareholder approval for the equity component of a £925 million refinancing and recapitalisation initiative supported by Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski, anticipates that the cost-cutting strategy will generate annual savings of approximately £50 million ($63.45 million).
Established in 2010 with the aim of challenging the supremacy of major British banks, Metro Bank faced a series of setbacks, including accounting errors, leadership departures, and delayed regulatory approval for crucial capital relief.
In conjunction with the reduction in workforce, the bank, renowned for its widespread, centrally- positioned branch network, declared its intention to allocate resources towards automating back-office operations and enhancing digital services.
