Lloyds Banking Group, Virgin Money and Direct Line Insurance are together cutting more than 2000 jobs in Britain, in the latest spate of job losses hitting the financial sector. Lloyds said it was cutting about 780 roles across its branch network, which represents almost one in 16 of its branch-based workforce. Lloyds employs about 70,000 staff. Virgin Money, which owns the soon to be rebranded Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank sites, will lose 500 roles and close 52 branches. Direct Line Insurance will cut 800 jobs from its 11,000-strong workforce as part of its cost-cutting drive. The Lloyds move is expected to affect customer advisers, banking consultants and bank managers at its Lloyds Bank and Halifax sites
