BUS ÉIREANN is planning to make about 320 staff redundant and take about 150 buses off the road as part of a major restructuring of its operations to help it reach break-even this year.
The bus company, formed in 1987, employs 2,700 staff and operates a fleet of 1,300 buses, about half of which are used for school transport.
As part of the restructuring, Bus Éireann will trim its schedule of services and possibly cut some routes. It operates extensive inter-city bus services and connections to rural areas, and also runs a network of routes in provincial cities.
Bus Éireann is also planning to put a freeze on recruitment and is expected to defer pay increases due under the national wage deals.
The company is understood to have lost about €9.5 million in 2008, a year that saw it record a 4 per cent reduction in passenger journeys from its 2007 peak of 96 million.
This move, along with a 10 per cent increase in fares introduced this month, is designed to return the company to break even.
Staff will be informed about the job cuts at briefings to be held around the country at 10am this morning.
It is understood that about 200 drivers will be affected by the layoffs, with maintenance staff and clerical workers also included in the redundancy programme.
It is believed that Bus Éireann hopes to achieve its target through voluntary redundancies.
The job cuts are likely to draw an angry reaction from trade union groups and politicians from around the country.
It is also likely to increase pressure on the Government, which has made provision of public transport a key issue.
Siptu and the National Bus and Rail Union represent the majority of staff at the regional bus company. Union leaders are already reeling from the news announced last week that Dublin Bus wants to cut its workforce by 290 and take 120 buses out of its fleet.
Dublin Bus blamed the decision on reduced passenger numbers, which it put down to “the contraction of employment in the economy, the virtual cessation of growth in newly-developing areas of the city, and the considerable reduction in consumer spending and retail footfall”. It also cited the abolition of the fuel duty rebate following an EU directive.
Dublin Bus said it faced losses for 2009 of €31 million unless corrective action was taken.
Bus Éireann’s passenger numbers grew by 14 per cent from 2001 until the end of 2007 as the country’s population expanded and employment levels grew to a record high.
In 2007 it recorded a profit of €6.9 million on revenues of €282.9 million. This performance, however, included the release of certain provisions and charges and masked an operating loss of €2.1 million, which the company blamed on rising fuel prices, increased labour costs and worsening traffic congestion.
Bus Éireann has also faced increased competition in recent years from private operators. The company received a State subvention of €36.6 million in 2007.
