Ulster Bank to cut more than 50 Belfast jobs

The redundancies were announced yesterday and will affect staff at Ulster Bank’s Danesfort centre in south Belfast.

The bank confirmed it is seeking 64 redundancies while creating 10 new roles.

A spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing efforts to build a strong and sustainable bank, we are seeking 51 redundancies from our Debt Management Operations team and 13 from our Contact Centre team. We will also be creating 10 new roles in our Contact Centre team as a result of these changes.”

The company are hoping a substantial amount of staff reductions can be met via voluntary redundancies. The spokesperson said: “We will aim to complete this process on a voluntary basis and we expect to be able to offer redeployment opportunities for all impacted employees. We are communicating directly with members of staff to explain the next steps to them.”

The Financial Services Union (FSU) has said it will “firmly resist” Ulster Bank’s proposal to close its debt management service.

Senior Industrial Relations Official with the FSU, Gareth Murphy, said: “This appears to be solely a cost cutting measure. However, Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland made a pre-tax profit of £58m last year. Staff are contributing hugely to the improved fortunes of the Bank – they do not deserve this type of treatment.”

He added: “Ulster Bank’s ambition is to be number one for customer service, trust and advocacy. Our union has challenged the bank to explain how this proposal adheres to the standards it has set for itself, its staff and its customers.”