British lender TSB has decided to phase out cashier roles by next year, which could put hundreds of jobs at risk, Reuters reported.

TSB has alerted its cashiers about the move following a sharp decline in branch banking due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

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In a memo, the bank said that its branch staff may have to retrain, change roles or exit the bank voluntarily.

A spokesman for TSB told the publication that the move will affect a total of 929 employees working in non-specialist roles.

In a statement, TSB said: “The way customers use their banks is changing and Covid-19 has significantly accelerated the use of digital services.

“When customers visit our branches, their needs tend to be more complex and we need a fully multi-skilled and flexible workforce to meet them.

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“This is why we are offering some branch colleagues the opportunity to upskill to take on broader customer service roles or take voluntary redundancy.”

According to Reuters, the redundancies come after TSB registered a €64m ($75.2m) loss in its first-half results.

Last month, Banco Sabadell – the Spanish parent company of TSB – said it was looking to cut costs at its British business.

TBU condemns the move

The staff union TBU has disapproved of the redundancy plan announced by the British bank.

TBU general secretary Mark Brown said: “TSB was already facing major cost problems and this looks like them jumping on the bandwagon, using the pandemic as an excuse to get rid of these roles.

“They don’t know whether people will return to branches once this pandemic is over.”