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150 jobs go at building society

The North East has been hit by a fresh jobs blow after 150 finance positions were axed following the 1,200 cuts at car giant Nissan.

Union leaders said the latest job losses, at the Newcastle Building Society, ended a “dark week” for workers across the region.

The company blamed “continued unprecedented market conditions” for the latest cuts.

It said it expected difficult trading conditions in 2009, with residential lending predicted to operate at a “significantly lower level” than in previous years and commercial lending activities wound down. The redundancies will be in most areas of the business, but most will be in the society’s head offices in Newcastle.

Chief executive Colin Seccombe said: “We are extremely disappointed to have to make these redundancies, which are a direct result of the unprecedented downturn in the financial markets that we, and most other financial institutions, are experiencing.

“Looking at the reasons for this, the lending landscape is completely unrecognisable from what it was as little as six months ago. Competition for retail funding - the main way that we as a mutual building society fund our lending - is extremely tough, and there is not the demand for mortgages that there was.

“We have unfortunately had to take this unprecedented decision to ensure that we remain efficient and in a strong financial position for the future, which is in the best interests of our members.”

David Isbell, regional officer at Unite said: “The staff at the Newcastle Building Society remain loyal to the organisation and will continue to deliver a high level of service to customers of this successful business. The society owes it to their staff and their customers to ensure that they do not make kneejerk decisions at the expense of the experienced and dedicated workforce.”

Newcastle Building Society created 200 new jobs last year, offering positions to many unemployed banking staff in the wake of the Northern Rock crisis.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .