National Irish Bank (NIB) has announced plans to close 25 branches and cut 150 jobs over the next 18 months.
The bank, which has 58 branches across the country, said the decision to implement a new restructuring programme was done against the backdrop of continuing recession and sweeping changes to the financial services landscape in Ireland
The restructuring programme is to be carried out on a phased basis beginning early next year. It is expected to be completed during 2011.
All job losses are to be sought on a voluntary basis and NIB said it was working with the union IBOA and other staff representative bodies over the details of the plan.
The voluntary severance scheme offers staff six weeks salary per year of service and is capped at 2 years’ salary.
Two-thirds of redundancies are expected to come from the branch network and the remainder from across the bank.
Announcing the move, NIB chief executive Andrew Healy reaffirmed the continued commitment of the Bank’s parent, Danske Bank Group, to the Irish market.
“Customers can be reassured by the fact that National Irish Bank is part of Danske Bank, a strong, well capitalised European banking group that remains ambitious for its Irish business and has a long term commitment to the Irish market. We will continue to service and support our customers,” said Mr Healy.
He described the restructuring move as a "prudent" one in the economic downturn and said the bank was one of the first to recognise the true scale of losses facing banks operating in Ireland. He added that this "latest proactive decision" signals its resolve to continue fulfilling the banking needs of its extensive Irish customer base.
“The banking sector in Ireland is on life support. Banks have to react by reducing costs and amending their business models. We are taking these actions to ensure we have a long-term future, a healthy future," said Mr Healy.
