Publishing business Thomson Reuters is slashing 250 jobs within its 650-strong IT, content and operations division.

The redundancies are part of a scheme affecting the group's staff worldwide, as the consolidation review processes found that many positions would overlap, a Thomson Reuters spokeswoman told Computing.

Thomson Reuters is still waiting on the specific UK numbers and a breakdown across various divisions including technology, which the business expects to discover "over the next couple of weeks, when formal collective consultation will begin with Unite over these proposed job cuts".

At the time of the merger of media groups Thomson and Reuters, the consolidated company announced its aim of reaping $750m (£383m) in savings by the third year through “synergies in areas such as property and technology”. Staff reviews represented part of the plan.

Other high-profile IT staff reviews include Royal Mail, which recently shed almost half its 300-strong permanent IT workforce.

Last week, Lloyds TSB announced plans to offshore about 450 IT positions, including permanent and contractor jobs to a technical delivery unit in India.

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

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.