February, 10 , 2010

THOUSANDS of jobs are now on the line as other banks gear up to follow yesterday’s decision by Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to dramatically slash costs.The UK-owned bank is making 750 workers redundant as it closes 44 Halifax retail branches.It claimed the operation was “too small’’ to succeed in a tough economic climate. It is the first case of a bank here resorting to compulsory redundancies since the financial crisis began.

The two main domestic banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, are expected to reduce staff numbers significantly later this year after relying on natural wastage up to now. That accounted for more than half the 6,000 job cuts announced over the past 14 months.Unions and analysts now fear that it is only a matter of time before both unveil redundancy schemes.A senior banking analyst said: “The two main banks are coming under increasing pressure in this regard, particularly as they are looking to raise billions of euro of capital in the market in the coming months.”

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