200 jobs go as Alliance & Leicester shuts site

Finance giant Alliance & Leicester is to close a site and switch work elsewhere, with the loss of more than 200 jobs, it was announced today.

The firm, owned by Spanish company Santander, said its Heritage House site in Leicester will shut, with most of its 250-strong workforce moving to another office in Narborough, Leicestershire.

Some work, including personal loan telephone distribution functions, will move to other Santander sites in the UK, mainly Sheffield.

The firm's mortgage servicing function currently based at Narborough is moving to another Santander company based in Teesside, affecting around 100 jobs, it was also announced.

"This decision may lead to a number of redundancies where redeployment is not found, although it is hoped many of these will be voluntary," said the company in a statement.

An Alliance & Leicester spokesman said: "There is never a good time to announce changes such as this and we are acutely aware of the uncertainty staff are facing.

"We would thank them for their continued professionalism and co-operation."

The Communication Workers Union said 200 jobs will be lost in Leicester, describing it as a "bitter blow".

National officer Nigel Cotgrove said: "While the amalgamation of the two Leicester sites is not unexpected, the job cuts are another bitter blow to our hard-working members and the economy in the East Midlands and come on top of redundancies earlier in the year.

"In difficult circumstances the CWU has ensured that the bank will be seeking volunteers for the redundancies and is looking to redeploy as many staff as possible.

"The CWU will continue to push for the maximum possible number of jobs to be maintained."

Jobs are expected to go in the new year, said the union.