Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to close 259 branches and shed 680 jobs.
The move is designed to reduce costs and encourage its customers to use online and mobile services.
In March 2017 the bank, in which the government continues to own a 71% stake, announced 180 branch closures.
Unite, the UK’s largest union, representing staff across RBS, has accused the taxpayer backed bank of decimating its branch network and betraying communities.
The union says serious questions need to be asked about whether these closures mark the end of branch network banking. Royal Bank of Scotland continues to be majority taxpayer supported, yet thousands of taxpayers are now being denied access to local banking, Unite said.
Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: “The Royal Bank of Scotland has decided to decimate its bank branch network. Now serious questions need to be asked about whether these closures mark the end of branch network banking.
“This announcement will forever change the face of banking in this country resulting in over a thousand staff losing their jobs and hundreds of high streets without any banking facilities.
“The closure of another 259 branches is savage and represents a betrayal of loyal staff and customers who have supported the bank for decades. Why is the Government signing off this alarming branch closure programme?
“A decade of slashing jobs has done nothing to boost morale, increase consumer confidence or improve the bank’s performance. This British-taxpayer funded bank should be concentrating on investing in jobs here in the UK, rather than cutting them wholesale.”
