Investec tells staff jobs at risk at Christmas via text - reports

Investec has told dozens of staff their jobs could be at risk via text message as part of a series of cut backs coming as it takes over Evolution, according to reports.

The move from the South African banking giant comes just ahead of the Christmas break, with 30 of its front office staff in London told their jobs are at risk on Tuesday.

A further 60 staff at Evolution have also been informed their jobs are at risk. The next stage in the process for the staff affected is a meeting to discuss the redundancy.

Of the 30 at Investec, a number are understood to have opted into the text alert system in advance, and received messages telling them they were at risk of being laid off at around 4.30am. They had pre-agreed the decision to receive the news via text.

The move to cut staff comes days after the Financial Services Authority approved the group's takeover of smaller rival Evolution for £220m.

The potential redundancies are at Investec's Investment Bank, and have no implications for Investec Asset Management.