Nationwide to slash 600 jobs after £2.9billion Virgin Money takeover

Nationwide Building Society is cutting around 600 jobs as it begins integrating Virgin Money following its £2.9billion takeover. Duplicated roles across the combined business are set to be removed.The redundancies represent the first significant round of job losses linked to the acquisition, which completed earlier this year, and will affect employees at both organisations whose roles overlap as operations are merged.Nationwide had previously declined to comment on workforce implications after announcing the deal in 2024.The cuts are understood to focus on administrative and support functions rather than customer‑facing branch staff. The building society has pledged to keep its network of nearly 700 branches open until at least 2030.The Swindon‑based lender, which employs around 25,000 people, informed staff of the proposals last week, and was first reported by the Guardian. A consultation is now under way with the Nationwide Group Staff Union and Unite, which represents Virgin Money employees. A Nationwide spokesman said the society was now the UK’s fastest‑growing banking provider, expanding into new areas such as business banking. “As we integrate Virgin Money, we are making some modest changes in areas where activities overlap,” he said. “However, we’re committed to retaining the talent and skills of our colleagues wherever we can.”Nationwide is currently advertising around 270 vacancies, though these roles have not been reserved for staff affected by the redundancy programme.The takeover marked a major moment for the mutual sector, with a member‑owned building society acquiring a commercial high‑street bank. The deal proved controversial because members were not given a vote. After the acquisition, Nationwide increased the maximum remuneration package available to chief executive Debbie Crosbie by 43 per cent, meaning she could receive up to £7million if all performance targets are met.Members were also not given a binding vote on the increase at the society’s most recent AGM. Nationwide’s annual report, published earlier this month, showed Ms Crosbie received £3.2million in bonus payments, bringing her total remuneration for the year to £4.7million.The latest announcement follows earlier workforce reductions made before the Virgin Money deal was completed.Nationwide had already cut around 800 jobs by early 2024, including around 200 employees told shortly before Christmas 2023 that their roles were being made redundant.The cuts came after Ms Crosbie ended the “work anywhere” policy introduced by her predecessor Joe Garner during the pandemic.Despite the new job losses, Nationwide has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining its branch network, with the combined group promising its almost 700 branches will remain open until at least 2030. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter