The Financial Ombudsman Scheme is planning to cut 150 jobs, including management positions, due mainly to a rapid decline in PPI work follow the ending of PPI claims to the Ombudsman.

The news follows the decision last week of FOS CEO Caroline Wayman to stand down amid reports the non-PPI case backlog has surged recently due to a rise in cases during the pandemic.

The FOS confirmed today it was looking to cut about 150 staff but said those affected will be able to apply for new roles. 

Staff affected are at a variety of levels in the organisation including management and the mass claims and transitions teams. 

The FOS employs about 2,756 people and says it expects to have resolved the majority of the remaining PPI cases by halfway through its 2021/22 year.

A spokesman for the FOS said: “The Financial Ombudsman Service is a customer-led organisation and the size and shape of our service needs to reflect the demand to ensure we provide a cost-effective service. 

“We have consistently said that we expect the size of the organisation to reduce as our work on PPI comes to an end following the FCA’s August 2019 deadline to complain. We are now consulting staff on the next stage of that process and will continue to work with staff and their representatives going forward.”

Ms Wayman announced her resignation last week amid mounting pressure on the ombudsman recently with the Coronavirus pandemic seeing a 50% surge in consumer complaints.

An investigation by Money Mail reported a logjam of 158,000 complaints was waiting to be cleared. According to the investigation, one in six complaints were over a year old and 11,648 date back for more than two years.

CEO and chief ombudsman Ms Wayman said it had been an “honour and a privilege” to have led the ombudsman for seven years.

She said: “The service has reached a pivotal point; in 2021 we expect to receive our final PPI cases and as nations, organisations and individuals, we are contemplating a landscape shaped and forever changed by a global pandemic.

“It’s against this backdrop, that the service is embarking on the next phase of its journey and it’s time for me to do the same.”