BoI seeks 600 more staff cuts

Bank of Ireland is seeking another 600 job cuts in addition to the 750 sought by the bank in July 2010, the Irish Bank Officials’ Association has said.

The bank secured 350 voluntary redundancies under the plan to cut 750 jobs almost two years ago until the Department of Finance requested the bank to put the scheme on hold as the Government wanted to reduce bank redundancy payments in line with similar schemes in the public service.

A spokesman for the IBOA said that the union had been told by the bank that it was seeking the remaining 400 redundancies under the original job-cutting plan and a further 600 voluntary redundancies, reducing the bank's headcount by about 1,000 staff.

A spokeswoman for the bank said that a figure on additional job losses being sought was purely speculative. The bank has said that staff numbers would decline as it reduces in size over the coming years, she said.

Repeating Mr Boucher's comments at the bank's 2011 annual results earlier this year, she said that there would be no "big bang" announcement on job losses.

The bank told staff in an email today that it is offering three weeks' pay per year of service, plus the two weeks' statutory entitlement, capped at two years' pay or €225,000, which was lower, on remaining redundancies at the bank.

This is a reduction from the six weeks' pay per year of service, plus the statutory entitlement of two weeks' pay under the July 2010 redundancy terms. Under the original redundancy terms, some higher earners could have received more than €225,000 on their departure from the bank.

Staff taking the remaining 400 redundancies sought under the July 2010 plan will be offered the reduced severance pay.

Bank of Ireland has reduced staff numbers by 3,800 to 13,234 at the end of last year through the sale of businesses, by not replacing departing staff and through voluntarily redundancies.

The IBOA said that negotiations with the bank's management had concluded for voluntary severance of up to 1,000 more staff, said the union's general secretary Larry Broderick.

"While it is extremely disappointing that over 1,000 more employees are likely to leave Bank of Ireland in the months ahead, the union welcomes the fact that these departures will take place on a voluntary basis and that the pay, terms and conditions of remaining staff have been guaranteed by the banks," he said.

"After due consideration, IBOA's Bank of Ireland executive committee is recommending these proposals for acceptance in the ballot of members beginning next week, on the basis that they are the best that can be achieved in all the circumstances."

Staff with more than two years' service will receive at least €10,000, while there will be a retraining grant and an early retirement scheme for people between 55 and 60.

Richie Boucher, chief executive of Bank of Ireland, signalled to shareholders at last month's annual meeting that there would be further reductions in staff numbers as the lender continued to shrink in size.

"It is fair to assume that there will be less people working in Bank of Ireland next year than there are today," he said.

An announcement on the redundancy terms for up to 2,500 staff at AIB is expected imminently. Ulster Bank said in January that it was seeking 950 job cuts.

The IBOA has called on the Government to develop a strategy to address the continuing haemorrhage of jobs in the Irish financial services sector.