200 jobs on the line as BoI closes 28 service centres

BANK of Ireland is to close 28 service centres around the country, which could result in more than 200 job losses.

The centres employ 419 people in administration and support services and are due to shut by the end of 2018.

Centres affected include Mayo, Tipperary, Dublin and Cork, with the roles centralised as part of bank restructuring.

The bank say affected staff will be able to apply for new jobs within the company or, in some cases, take early retirement.

Financial expert Brendan Burgess said the news was predictable.

‘This is absolutely inevitable,’ he said. ‘People are not using cheques any more, they’re not using ATMs any more. If they’re going into branches, they’re dealing with machines. They dealt with the tracker problem more or less, and the mortgage arrears problem is greatly reduced, so there’s less demand for staff.

‘Our grandchildren in the future will be wondering what did banks have branches for. Good IT systems should result in fewer staff and lower costs for consumers... or bigger profits for the banks.’

The announcement was greeted with ‘major concern’ by the Financial Services Union. Senior industrial relations officer Maeve Brehony said: ‘FSU have been challenging the bank on staffing levels for a considerable time. We do not accept that a significant number of job losses are tenable.’