RBS May Cut 9K Jobs Because Of Bailout

by William Teach | April 9, 2009 2:38 pm

A view of things to come?

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc[1], the biggest bank controlled by the U.K. Treasury, plans to eliminate as many as 9,000 more jobs worldwide as it seeks to repay a government bailout.

The cuts, which total about 5 percent of RBS’s global workforce, include 4,500 jobs in Britain. The actual number of positions lost may be “significantly lower” because of efforts to shift employees into new positions, Edinburgh-based RBS said in a statement.

RBS may be forced to eliminate more jobs as it seeks to cut costs by 2.5 billion pounds ($3.7 billion), or 14 percent, over three years and return the bank to investor control. Job losses of 20,000 are “not irresponsible speculation,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester said Feb. 26. Today’s announcement came as the U.K. government increased its stake in RBS to 70 percent.

RBS is not just some local player, employing 170,000 people worldwide. The question that comes to mind is, could this happen with other banks, particularly here in the good ole US of A? What happens when Citi, Bank of America, and all the others, from large to small, who took, and were sometime forced into taking, bailout money have to repay it? Might there be a reason that some banks are trying to return the money[2]? Heck, Timmy Geithner just gave another $54.8 million[3] to 10 more banks.

But, good news for liberals: there is one business that is looking for your talent[4].

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[5]