Northern Rock 'may shed 2,000 jobs'

Updated 10.27 Mon Oct 29 2007
Keywords: Northern Rock

Northern Rock may be forced to shed 2,000 jobs because of a slowdown in new business.

According to reports, the group is drawing up a rescue plan for the business which does not include plans for compulsory redundancies.

Northern Rock was forced to seek emergency funding from the Bank of England in September after soaring borrowing costs, sparking a run on the bank

However, it has introduced a recruitment freeze and is trying to agree voluntary departures. The possible cuts represent a third of 6,000-strong workforce.

Northern Rock was forced to seek emergency funding from the Bank of England in September after soaring borrowing costs, sparking a run on the bank.

The bank, which is estimated to have borrowed more than £20 billion from the Bank of England so far, has reined in its lending following the summer's credit crunch in financial markets, hitting the growth of the business.

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