Spanish banking giant Santander is to axe 1,900 jobs in its three UK businesses, including Bradford & Bingley, under efficiency moves, the company announced today.

The job cuts next year will hit staff at Bradford & Bingley, Abbey, and Alliance & Leicester, and compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out.

Head offices in Bradford, London and Leicester will be affected by the cuts, which are equivalent to 8 per cent of Santander's UK workforce.

Santander said the efficiencies were part of plans to save £180 million by the end of 2011 following its acquisition of Alliance & Leicester.

The firm said there will be minimal impact on customer-facing roles in branches, with the focus of the reductions in back office roles and across operational and head office sites.

The bank said it had no current plans to close major sites although it may consolidate some smaller offices into larger sites.

Antonio Horta-Osorio, chief executive of the combined UK business, said: "Santander is committed to continuing the growth of its UK businesses profitably and has already shown through Abbey that it can drive efficiencies in operational areas in order to grow its retail business and provide customers with greater value-for-money products.

"At our Q3 trading update, Abbey increased profits and grew market share in mortgages, savings, current accounts and investments, demonstrating that we are continuing to lend whilst being seen as a safe haven for customers' deposits.

"Today's announcement shows we are on track to fulfil the commitment we made at the time of the Alliance & Leicester acquisition to grow our UK business whilst ensuring we meet our cost-saving targets.

"Santander is committed to its branch network in the UK, reflecting its status as one of the world's leading retail banks, with the largest international retail branch network in the world.

"The combined UK business now has nearly 1,300 branches which we expect to maintain or slightly increase in the near term."

Andy Kerr, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: "At this time of great uncertainty in the banking sector, the CWU has managed to secure commitments that there will be a voluntary approach to the redundancies.

"While job losses have been expected following the takeover by Santander, we are determined to ensure that A&L follows the voluntary route to job losses."

National officer Nigel Cotgrove said 1,000 jobs will be cut from Alliance & Leicester during 2009, equivalent to a 13 per cent reduction, which was "very unwelcome", especially just before Christmas.

"Santander has confirmed that the biggest sites at Carlton Park and Bootle are not at risk, and that the branch network size is to be maintained.

"While this will provide welcome reassurance for many of our members, the suggestion that smaller sites may be consolidated into larger ones raises serious questions over some locations around the UK.

"We will now be in intensive discussions with the bank to maintain the maximum number of jobs possible."