Layoffs At Lloyds May Be Start Of Brexit Impact

Lloyds Bank announced that it would cut around 3,000 jobs and close around 200 branches by the end of next year.  Lloyds was already under pressure to reduce costs as it already had announced in 2014 that it would cut about 9,000 jobs by the end of 2017. So it is hard to know whether the Brexit vote had anything to do with this decision or whether Brexit provides a nice excuse for taking actions the bank had already contemplated. But the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote and the expected cut in interest rates by the Bank Of England will only put more pressure on the bank’s profits. This may just be the first salvo in a large reduction of employment at British banks. And it only reinforces my belief that the May government needs to come to a resolution with the EU sooner rather than later.