A CLOSURE threat over a Liverpool call centre and almost 300 jobs has been lifted.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced on September 30 last year that its Stephenson Way business services centre, in Wavertree Technology Park, was earmarked for closure, along with 11 other UK locations, by next year.
But banking group Santander, which bases its commercial banking headquarters in Bootle’s Bridle Way where almost 2,000 people work, has stepped in to take control of the centre and the 279 staff based there.
The shake-up last year was linked to a European Commission directive that RBS had to offload banking branches, which meant that there was no longer a requirement for most of its “back office” services.
Santander agreed last year to take over 318 RBS branches in its drive to increase its high street presence.
Now, the Spanish/UK banking group has agreed to include the Wavertree call centre in this deal, and staff in Wavertree have now been informed that the threat of closure has been lifted.
A Santander spokesman said: “Santander is pleased that the Wavertree site is now an additional part of the RBS deal, as it will give us extra capacity to service the higher numbers of customers we will have once the deal completes.
“The addition of the Wavertree site cements Santander’s commitment to the region and will boost our existing operations on Merseyside, with Bootle remaining a key strategic site for the bank.”
An RBS spokeswoman said: “The Wavertree site will now move over to Santander.”
She said the company informed the workforce once the deal was completed and added: “We will go back to them with specific details before the end of the year.
“It is good news for Liverpool.
“The site was earmarked for closure as part of 12 centres closing before 2012, including Liverpool, but it will continue to provide back office support.”
Banking union Unite welcomed the news that RBS has decided to reverse its decision to close the site, along with another mortgage centre location in Norwich which was included in the original 12-strong hit-list.
Unite said it maintained that there was always a business case, with sufficient work volumes, to maintain staffing levels, and added that the U-turn will save hundreds of jobs.
David Fleming, Unite national officer, said: “Unite is extremely pleased that the Royal Bank of Scotland has listened to the concerns of staff and reversed its planned site closures.
“This news is a significant boost to the RBS workforce after many months of uncertainty. Unite has been working tirelessly to challenge the bank on these job losses and the announcement to save these jobs is to be welcomed.
“We only regret that the staff had to endure such a stressful period while this decision was changed.”
