Bank of Ireland to Shed About 1,400 Jobs to Drive Costs Down

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Ireland Group Plc plans to cut about 1,400 jobs in coming years, pushing down costs as the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak continues to reverberate.

The bank is set to reduce its headcount to below 9,000 from 10,400 in the medium term, it said on Wednesday in Dublin, with CEO Francesca McDonagh telling analysts the bank has started a new voluntary redundancy program.

“We now expect 2021 costs to be below our previous guidance of 1.65 billion euros, and it won't stop there,” McDonagh said. “We will look at all tactical and strategic opportunities to reduce costs further beyond 2021.”

The company reported a first-half underlying loss of 669 million euros ($792 million) driven by a 937 million euro charge to cover loan losses. The bank will run down lower margin and less profitable parts of its Great Britain business, resulting in a smaller mortgage book, while it will start a strategic review of its Northern Ireland business, McDonagh told analysts.

The bank will give a wider update on its cost reduction plan when it releases full year 2020 earnings.

The company's shares rose as much as 11% in Dublin to 2.04 euros, the highest level since June 8, giving the lender a market value of 2.2 billion euros. The shares traded at 1.91 euros as of 12:40 p.m.

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