West Brom set to axe 150 staff

UP TO 150 jobs are at risk at West Bromwich Building Society as the region’s biggest mutual fights the harshest economic downturn for nearly two decades.

The depth of the recession in the region was underlined today as the West Brom – a proudly independent mutual for 159 years – prepared to wield the axe on scores of staff in the region.

The society’s 1,000+ employees were being told of the impending 10 per cent cutbacks at a series of staff consultations arranged for today, just weeks after new boss Robert Sharpe was parachuted in.

And the cutbacks triggered speculation that the West Brom was being slimmed down for a potential takeover as the UK financial sector grapples with the impact of the recession following the global credit crisis and the near collapse of the international banking sector.