Lloyds TSB is said to be offshoring about 450 IT positions including permanent and contractor jobs to its technical delivery unit in India.

It is expected that the move – which is thought to affect IT staff staff in major UK cities including London, Manchester, Edinburgh – will begin in August and it is expected to complete early next year.

"Once this phase of offshoring is complete, the union expects other areas of the information technology division’s 2,400 UK-based workforce to follow suit, with many hundreds more IT jobs transferring to India as a consequence," the Lloyds TSB Group Union said in a statement.

The move is "unjustified and represents a lack of faith in the IT skills of their UK workforce", workers union Unite said in a statement.

“We do not believe that the business case for this decision has been made; we are challenging the bank to consider alternative options,” said Unite official John Bancroft.

Unite has an agreement with Lloyds TSB whereby the union will be consulted before any offshoring decisions are made and that there will be no compulsory redundancies, said Bancroft.

"The agreement also ensures that any employees affected by offshoring, whether they stay with the bank or not, receive a £2,000 training bond to enhance and develop their skills," he said.

“The union will now work with the company to ensure that the displaced staff have their terms and conditions protected and suitable alternative employment is offered in order to ensure there are no compulsory redundancies."