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Salesforce Of The Future: Cut From 1,750 To 1,150
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Date: 29th Apr 2003
Lloyds TSB has today announced plans to restructure its regulated salesforce and reduce the number of Financial Consultants from 1,750 to 1,150 by the end of June 2003.
The reasons behind the decision to reduce the salesforce are well known: increasing competition, the simplification of many products following the Sandler Review, the impact of the 1% world and more recently the uncertainty in the equity markets. However, what concerns LTU is the speed of the Bank's decision.
Mark Brown, Assistant General Secretary, said following the announcement that "To reduce the number of FC's now, rather than waiting to see what impact these changes will have on the life and pensions business, seems to be based on an overly pessimistic view of the future."
He added that "The Bank had already initiated a longer-term project, with Union involvement, to look at the Salesforce of the Future and that review would have allowed us to deal with any restructuring of the salesforce over a much longer period and thus avoid the need for any redundancies."
LTU, which represents over 85% of the regulated salesforce, has said that the critical factor forcing the Bank to make these changes now is the role of Scottish Widows. In discussions with LTU the Bank has said that there is a pressing need to reduce the Scottish Widows cost base to a position that is sustainable given its projected income shortfall this year. Lloyds TSB planned to deliver 133.5 million salepoints to SW in 2003 but that was reduced to 115 million and the maximum a smaller salesforce is now likely to deliver is 107 million salepoints.
In its discussions with the Bank, LTU has insisted that every effort is made throughout the restructuring programme to reduce the number of Financial Consultants by voluntary means and that every avenue should be explored before any member of staff is made compulsorily redundant.
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