LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - TSB, the UK banking arm of

Spain's Sabadell, is seeking 250 job cuts and 36

branch closures, a spokesperson for the bank and employee union

Unite said on Wednesday, as the lender accelerates a

restructuring push to save costs.

The likely redundancies are expected to fall in the bank's

fraud operations, central operations and across TSB's branch

network, Unite said, adding that it would seek talks with

management in an effort to reduce any additional layoffs.

The proposed job losses come just three months after TSB

announced plans to cut around 300 roles in its Risk & Finance,

Customer Banking and Customer Delivery teams on February 6.

"To meet changing customer needs and for TSB to remain

competitive, we are making changes to simplify the way we

operate," the bank spokesperson said in a statement on

Wednesday.

"These decisions are never taken lightly. Our priority is to

consult with impacted colleagues to ensure they're fully

supported, maximising redeployment opportunities where we can."

Unite regional officer Andy Case described the bank's plans

as a "grave mistake".

"These workers perform essential work in the fraud

departments and across the branch network. TSB customers will

rightly be concerned by today's news and they will undoubtedly

suffer a downgrade in service from these job cuts."

Sabadell itself has just turned down a takeover offer from

larger Spanish rival BBVA