Britain's Lloyds steps up job cuts with more than 1,000 fresh layoffs

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds <LLOY.L> said it is cutting 1070 jobs, accelerating redundancies despite a return to profit in the third quarter.

"These changes reflect our ongoing plans to continue to meet our customers' changing needs and make parts of our business simpler," a Lloyds spokeswoman said, adding the bank was separately creating around 340 roles.

Lloyds announced plans in September for 865 redundancies after temporarily stopping job losses earlier in the pandemic.

Union Unite, which represents Lloyds staff, strongly criticised the latest cuts.

"Unite cannot comprehend why LBG would choose to cut 1,000 staff who have given the bank such commitment and dedication during a global pandemic," said Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer.

Lloyds posted forecast-beating quarterly profits last month after cashing in on a coronavirus-driven boom in demand for mortgages.

The majority of the latest roles cut are non-customer facing roles in the bank's group transformation and retail teams, with no branch closures announced.

(Reporting by Iain Withers, editing by Lawrence White)