Santander UK has announced that 95 bank branches will be closed across the UK, including 10 in Scotland, putting around 750 jobs at risk.

A range of changes will also be hitting remaining branches, as the banking giant announced it will cut hours across 36 branches, while 18 will be converted to counter-free sites. More than a third of the Spanish-owned company’s 444 UK network will be affected in the transformation.

The overhaul will result in just 349 branches left in the UK, 290 of which will still have full-services, and five which will have ‘work cafes’.

More than 4% of Santander UK’s 18,000 strong workforce will be at risk as a result of the changes – about 750 jobs. The current plans are still under consultation with unions before they are set to go ahead.

Most of the planned layoffs are related to the closure of bank branches, but around 12% would be due to proposed hourly reductions.

The closures and redundancies appear to be in response to the ongoing trend of customers switching to digital banking options as opposed to in-person services.

Santander reported a 63% rise in digital transactions since 2019, while in-branch transactions fell by 61% in the same time.

“As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future,“ a Santander UK spokesman said. “Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside work cafes, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance.”

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Changes are expected to start in June, with 18 branches being converted to counter-free, and the majority of branches reducing their hours to three day weeks by the end of June.

However, the bank did say it would recruit 95 new community bankers in affected locations, with hopes to rehire some affected staff in these jobs.

The company said that in order to serve affected local areas, 18 new banking hubs will be required. These are typically funded by Cash Access UK, which is funded by many UK lenders, including Santander.

“To support the changes, Santander will be proactively contacting all potentially vulnerable customers by phone and will assist those customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank that best suit their needs,” Santander said.