BANK JOBS BLOODBATH
1,400 posts on the line as union slams decision
UP to 1,400 Bank of Ireland workers are set to lose their jobs in a move which has been slammed as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bank’s decision comes after reporting a loss of €669million before tax for the first six months of the year.
The company said it has put aside €937million for losses they expect will accrue as a result of Covid-19.
It said the group’s full year 2020 impairment charge is expected to be between €1.1billion and €1.3billion.
The bank has now launched a voluntary redundancy programme as it looks to reduce its headcount to less than 9,000 from its current position of under 10,400 employees.
The general secretary of the Financial Services Union has slammed the bank’s decision and said he was “extremely disappointed and angry” with
BOI that it is proceeding with such a move in the middle of a pandemic.
John O’connell said: “From our
BOI blamed pandemic point of view it’s one of the biggest cultural missteps in banking history in Ireland.
“We’re in the middle of a pandemic... the bank announces an exit package, and tells people to make their minds up in four weeks.”
Mr O’connell said the FSU anticipated cuts and wrote to the banks asking them to consider a pause given the current circumstances.
AIB and Ulster bank responded positively and were prepared to work with the FSU in terms of headcount, Mr O’connell said.
He told RTE the FSU met with the Department of Finance last week and reiterated the request and are now struggling to understand how the bank got an endorsement for the move from the government.
Mr O’connell said staff were running the banks from shared accommodation and were the same people who were told they were essential workers.
He said he was writing to the Taoiseach immediately to ask him to intervene. Bank of Ireland’s CEO Francesca Mcdonagh said 105,000 payment breaks were granted by the bank across Ireland and the UK during lockdown.
She added: “We’re being prudent and comprehensive in taking that large provision.
“Everything has to be seen through the prism of Covid-19.”
669 937 million euro was the loss million euro expected to reported by BOI in first be lost by BOI due to the six months of this year Covid-19 pandemic
MORE than 1,400 staff at Bank of Ireland are the latest casualty of the pandemic as bosses announced a loss of €669million in the first six months of the year.
Workers’ union leader John O’connell has slammed the move, branding it as one of the “biggest cultural missteps” in banking history.
Which is saying a lot when you consider the mess caused by banks during the last recession.
Mr O’connell has called on the Taoiseach to intervene and put a stop to what he describes as a “knee-jerk reaction”.
Hopefully staff are given both answers and treated with respect soon.