Lloyds Group to cut 1,660 jobs

LONDON, June 9 (UPI) -- Lloyds Banking Group in Britain said it would close a 159-year old mortgage lender and cut a total of 1,660 full time jobs.

The bank said it would close 164 branches of the Cheltenham & Gloucester network, which operated as a building society until Lloyds purchased the business in 1995, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

The branches will close in November, Lloyds said in a statement.

The bank also said it would move its personal loans product team from Chester to London by the end of 2011 and downsize its Black Horse sales operation from 92 centers to 61.

Derek Simpson, general secretary of the union Unite called the cuts "nothing short of disgraceful."

"This move will rip the heart out of hundreds of local communities up and down the country," he said.

Lloyds said it would work to reduce the number of layoffs through attrition and voluntary departures.

"It is always difficult to make decisions about our business that affect our colleagues. We will work through these changes carefully and sensitively," Executive Director of Retail Helen Weir said in a statement.