UK Union Says Near 20,000 Financial Services Jobs Lost In UK In 09

U.K. labor union Unite said Monday that nearly 20,000 jobs have been lost in the financial services industry in the U.K. in the first four months of the year.

Unite said the industry is setting itself up for diminished capacity to recover from the downturn if they continue to cut jobs.

"Unite is infuriated that banks and insurance companies are failing to recognize the damage that will be done to their businesses if they continue to simply slash thousands of staff each month," Unite's national officer, Rob MacGregor, said in a statement.

"Confidence in the sector can only be regained through the efforts of the vital staff in branches, processing and call centers up and down the country," he said.

"Without these highly trained and experienced people there is no chance that the U.K. will be able to rebuild its reputation for a world class industry."

MacGregor said he wants the firms in the industry to consider the long-term implications of their "short-term cost saving plans."

"The herd mentality which has now griped the sector in the race to cut staff will simply damage the U.K. economy."

According to Unite, 19,964 jobs in the industry have been eliminated since the end of 2008.

At the top of the list are the banks: Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG), Barclays PLC (BCS), HSBC Holding PLC (HBC) and Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) Merrill Lynch.

Insurers have also made cuts, with the largest coming from RSA Insurance Group PLC (RSA.LN), Legal & General Group PLC (LGEN.LN) and Aviva PLC (AV.LN).

Company Web site: www.unitetheunion.com

-By Ragnhild Kjetland; Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]