Nationwide to cut 275 more jobs but says no branch or customer-facing staff are at risk
The building society told staff the roles would go as it merges Virgin Money into the group, and it is sticking to its promise to keep its branches open until at least 2030.
Nationwide is cutting another 275 jobs as it continues to fold Virgin Money into its business, but the building society says none of the roles involve staff who deal directly with customers.
Staff were told about the cuts last Wednesday, and the plans were first reported by the Guardian on Sunday. The jobs will go from several back-office areas, including parts of its retail division such as mortgages, as well as human resources, customer operations, communications, finance and the office of the chief operating officer.
Nationwide said in a statement that it was making a limited number of changes as it integrated Virgin Money, and that it was supporting the people affected, including through retraining and moving them into other roles. It said no customer-facing colleagues were at risk.
What it means for customers
The building society has promised to keep all of its branches open until at least 2030, and the latest cuts do not include branch staff.
Nationwide has around 19 million customers. Its workforce is now roughly 27,000 people after taking on Virgin Money's staff.
The society also said the job cuts were not linked to greater use of artificial intelligence.
Background to the takeover
Nationwide bought Virgin Money in a £2.9bn deal, a rare case of a member-owned building society buying a commercial high street bank. Building societies are owned by their savers and borrowers rather than by shareholders.
Virgin Money had more than 7,000 staff when the takeover was formalised in late 2024, while Nationwide had about 18,000 of its own employees. Executives said at the time that there would be limited workforce changes to deal with overlapping roles.
This is the second round of job cuts this year linked to the merger. In June, Nationwide announced that around 600 roles would go.
The cuts come as several large lenders reduce staff numbers. Barclays said last week that it would cut 5,000 jobs as part of cost savings linked to wider use of AI.
Nationwide is due to publish its half-year financial results on 19 November.
