Irish retail and commercial bank Ulster Bank is set to slash 813 more jobs as it embarks on a new redundancy programme as part of a phased withdrawal process from the Irish market.
According to Financial Services Union (FSU), over 250 of the impacted employees are based in Northern Ireland, while the remaining are in the Republic of Ireland.
Ulster Bank CEO Jane Howard said: “This programme will see colleagues leave the Bank as their work ceases or significantly diminishes over the course of 2023 and 2024, and we expect there will be no further Bank-wide redundancy programmes this year.”
The bank has invited its employees to apply for voluntary redundancy until 7 June 2023 or enter a redeployment period where they can pursue another role over the short or longer term, reported Raidió Teilifís Éireann’s website RTÉ.ie.
The employees leaving Ulster Bank will exit it this year and in 2024, added Ireland’s national public service media.
Previously, the lender announced 800 job cuts with the impacted employees currently leaving the organisation, which is a subsidiary of NatWest Group.
Financial Services Union industrial relations and campaigns head Gareth Murphy said: “As a Union, throughout this difficult process we have managed to secure improved redundancy terms and protected jobs with staff transferring to other Banks We have also managed to secure up to 100 jobs with staff transferring to new roles within NatWest.”
“There is more that can be done. Remote working has many benefits.
“It opens up the possibility of staff based in Northern Ireland undertaking work across the entire NatWest network.”
In April this year, Ulster Bank announced the closing of its entire branch network in Ireland. Prior to that, the lender stopped processing in-branch transactions and followed it up by shutting down its remaining 63 branches and ATM services in the country.
In early 2021, Ulster Bank said that it will withdraw from Ireland as its branch transactions were reduced by 99%.
