Staff at First Active will decide next week whether to take industrial action over the company's plans to cut 175 jobs and to close 25 of its 76 branches.

SIPTU, which represents 600 employees at the former building society, has issued ballot papers to its members and has recommended a vote in favour of industrial action. The ballots will be counted next Monday.

Staff affected by the rationalisation met in Dublin over the weekend and are understood to be deeply angered by the way the company proposes to achieve the job losses. First Active has stated that the 175 job losses, which are being sought by the end of January, will be voluntary, but if this target is not met, a mandatory redundancy programme will be implemented.

The majority of the job losses will come from the bank's customer services staff with supervisory, and management roles also affected.

First Active is offering employees who are eligible for the package a payment of six weeks' salary for every year of service with the former building society up to a maximum of 2.5 times their annual earnings. In addition the bank is offering a once-off payment of £5,000 towards retraining and a further payment of £5,000 for staff dependants in full-time education.

Staff at First Active are believed to be deeply angered at the lack of consultation on the package and the company's rationalisation plans. SIPTU claims it only learned of management proposals a day before the announcement and is also greatly concerned about the way in which the company is proposing to achieve its target job reductions.

One SIPTU official said it was "unprecedented" for a financial services company in the Republic to adopt a compulsory redundancy programme if the voluntary offer is not taken up in sufficient numbers. There is also much confusion among staff members who will be affected by branch closures whether they can opt to move to another branch within the group.

A SIPTU spokesman said he was optimistic that the ballot for industrial action would be carried by the majority of First Active's staff.

If the vote is passed, SIPTU is required to give First Active two weeks' notice of industrial action. This may include putting a ban on overtime up to a complete withdrawal of labour from the bank.

First Active is under pressure to cut costs to withstand competitive pressures. The measures announced last week will cost First Active €26 million (£20.5 million) this year but are expected to trim €13 million off its cost structures annually.