Nationwide Building Society is cutting 275 jobs as it simplifies its operations following its £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money, the society has confirmed. Staff were told last week that the roles will go across the retail division, including mortgage operations, human resources, the chief operating officer's office, customer operations, communications and finance. It is the second round of redundancies this year, after 600 positions were cut in June, taking the two rounds together to around 875 roles.

No customer-facing roles at risk

Nationwide stressed that no customer-facing colleagues are at risk, and said those affected will be supported through retraining and redeployment. A spokesperson said: "As we integrate Virgin Money into Nationwide, we're making a limited number of changes." The society also made clear that the cuts are not driven by artificial intelligence — a distinction it drew deliberately, days after Barclays announced 5,000 job cuts linked in part to AI-driven productivity.

A sector cutting in both directions

Nationwide has said the latest reductions are about removing duplication created when thousands of Virgin Money staff joined the group. The announcement sits inside a wider wave of financial-services job losses, with Barclays and Legal & General both reducing headcount.

Not cuts alone

But Nationwide's picture is not cuts alone: the society, which employs around 27,000 people, is also adding more than 380 roles in growth areas such as business banking. Nationwide has pledged to keep its branches open until at least 2030. Its half-year results, due in November, will show whether the integration savings are landing as planned — and whether further rounds follow.

Sources: Personnel Today, The Guardian via ExecReview.