UK bank Abbey National has announced it is to cut 3,000 jobs in a bid to reduce costs.
The cuts are part of measures identified by Spanish bank Santander Central Hispano, which acquired Abbey in November last year for £9.5 billion sterling, to revive the fortunes of the struggling UK bank.
Abbey plans to identify two-thirds of the positions to go by the end of March. The bank said the job cuts will be in back office operations as the company looks to reduce its number of administration sites from the current level of around 30.
It wants more staff in customer-facing roles and said it planned to train existing staff to boost the ranks of its sales team by more than 30 per cent.
Abbey is also planning a makeover for its 726 branches to reflect its recent change in ownership. The change of image is expected to cost the bank £8 million and will take place from May.
Details of the switch emerged as Abbey reported annual profits of £273 million, following two years of heavy losses.
Santander today announced a 20 per cent rise in 2004 net profit; Abbey will be consolidated with the group as of the first quarter of this year. Spain's biggest bank saw its profits rise to €3.14 billion, while net interest income rose to €8.64 billion.