Virgin Money has suspended a branch closure and job loss programme while it deals with the coronavirus outbreak.

An announcement at the end of February had outlined how it was planning to cut around 500 jobs, including 60 at its Gosforth office, as part of the integration plans that followed CYBG’s acquisition of Virgin Money in 2018.

Virgin Money said it would close 22 branches across the country in 2020, and would consolidate a further 30 branches to nearby locations, with around 500 full-time equivalent roles to be cut across the business, including 215 in its branches and 60 jobs at Gosforth office with changes to a number of business banking, risk, finance and other departments.

But now the bank says that “as a result of the current situation with COVID-19, it does not intend to proceed with the branch closures and role reductions announced on 26 February 2020, until further notice.”

Lucy Dimes, group business transformation Officer at Virgin Money UK, said: “Our primary focus is on supporting our customers and protecting our colleagues during this challenging time. As a result of the impact of Coronavirus in the UK, we have decided not to proceed with the integration changes we announced in February.”

The business, formerly named CYBG and including the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, bought Newcastle’s Virgin Money in 2018. All three parts of the business are set to start using the Virgin Money brand from 2021.

At the time of the merger, the bank’s management said that it would be reducing headcount by around 16%, which would mean the loss of around 1,500 jobs – though it expected many to be through natural attrition.

The bank had been due to close Virgin Money branches at Gateshead, South Shields and Giffnock, while Clydesdale was closing sites at Crieff, Dingwall, Dumbarton, Dyce, Edinburgh and Wishaw. There were also due to be Yorkshire Bank closures at Birkenhead, Bridlington, Brighouse, Cannock, Gloucester, Leeds, Morley, Pontefract, Sheffield, Warrington, Wombwell and Worksop.

In addition, a number of branches were set to consolidate, affecting sites in Glasgow, Hull, Leicester, Peterborough, Sheffield, Sunderland, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bolton, Carlisle, Coventry, Darlington, Derby, Dundee, Edinburgh, Hartlepool, Kendal, Leeds, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oldham, Preston, Stockport, Stockton and York.