A plan by Bank of Ireland to shed up to 20 per cent of its workforce as part of a major cost-cutting drive is to be vigorously opposed by the bank officials' union.
The job cuts are to be announced by the bank tomorrow in a statement to the stock exchange outlining proposals for a restructuring of its business.
Up to 2,000 of the bank's 12,000 employees are to lose their jobs as part of a drive to cut more than €100 million from its annual costs.
While a rationalisation programme was signalled by the bank's chief executive, Brian Goggin, late last year, the scale of the cuts is set to trigger strong trade union and political reaction.
The Irish Bank Officials' Association, which represents 7,000 of the bank's employees, declined to comment in advance of tomorrow's announcement.
However, the union will strongly oppose job cuts in a business that announced pre-tax profits last year of nearly €1.3 billion.
Labour's finance spokeswoman, Joan Burton, said it was "very disappointing" to hear the bank planned such extensive job cuts.
She said banks were the beneficiaries of an "extraordinarily favourable tax regime" because they availed of the State's low corporation tax rate. Job cuts of that scale would be a poor reward for the State's generosity in that regard.
The job reductions form part of a cost-cutting strategy that is likely to include some branch closures as well as an overhaul of the bank's business.
Some non-core activities are to be outsourced to other companies. These could include administration, human resources and security activities, although details could not be confirmed last night.
It is understood a significant number of the staff affected will be able to redeploy to companies providing outsourced services.
This is unlikely, however, to assuage IBOA anger at the cuts. Members of the union went on strike two years ago when the bank's information technology activities were outsourced to the US group, Hewlett Packard.
The transfer of 500 employees went ahead only after they were offered an option to be redeployed to the bank after five years.
Mr Goggin took over as chief executive last June and set cost-cutting as one of the priorities for his tenure at the helm of Ireland's second-largest bank. He promised investors last year that he would be "a relentless cost-cutter".
The bank is determined to get its cost-income ratio, which stands at around 54 per cent, to below 50 per cent.
It had been expected to target its Irish retail operation, where the cost base is regarded as high by industry standards.
The arrival of a number of new players in the Irish banking market in recent years has led to increased competition for Bank of Ireland and its main domestic rival, AIB.
Royal Bank of Scotland's purchase of Ulster Bank, and later First Active, was followed last December by the takeover of National Irish Bank by Denmark's biggest financial institution, Danske Bank.
Just last week Bank of Scotland announced plans for further expansion with the purchase of the ESB's 52 shops throughout the Republic along with its retail loan book.
The IBOA is expected to argue that the bank's move runs contrary to those recent trends. Danske Bank, for example, says it expects to open new branches.
Ms Burton said the Bank of Ireland should provide training for those losing their jobs to help them "upskill" and avail of higher-quality positions in the financial services sector.
She also said she hoped the bank's rural branch network, which was pruned as part of a previous cost-cutting programme five years ago, would not be further diminished.
The bank cut its workforce by 1,000 on that occasion.
The Bank of Ireland said it could not comment in advance of tomorrow's statement.