4,500 UK workers could go as a result of the latest plan, with RBS saying that it wants to cut costs in the recession.
Big job cuts are planned at RBS, as the part-nationalised bank attempts to downsize.
The firm is looking to shed up to 9,000 staff around the world and roughly half the cuts are to come in the UK. Shrinking demand for its services in the economic downturn is a major factor behind the move.
RBS has been one of the firms hardest hit by the global credit crunch. It agreed to sell £20 billion worth of shares to the government last October after its balance sheet was battered by exposure to bad debts and the general financial downturn - and the bank is now 70 percent public-owned.
After declaring a UK corporate record £24 billion loss for 2008, RBS also entered into the government's Asset Protection Scheme. Around £300 billion of devalued assets are now underwritten by the taxpayer.
Commenting on the move, RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said: "We have set a new strategy for RBS to restore the bank to standalone strength as soon as practicable. From this we want the government to be able to realise value from its investment in RBS. To do so we need to cut our costs, as in all businesses, given the current recession."
Trade unions reacted angrily to the announcement. Rob MacGregor, national officer for Unite, said: "The news that 4,500 RBS staff in the UK are to lose their jobs is truly devastating. Unite is appalled that thousands of people, who form the backbone of the RBS operations, are to be made redundant."
RBS currently employs around 175,000 people globally.
