National Irish Bank staff safe, contractors not so lucky

Despite posting a €552m loss in 2008 after incurring a "goodwill write-off", National Irish Bank (NIB) says it has no plans to make redundancies. It is, however, cutting back on temporary staff, and other financial institutions seem to be doing the same.

NIB says it is writing off €395m in a one-off payment to secure bad debt, which makes up a large chunk of the €552m loss.

It's also targeting a 10% reduction in costs in 2009, but this doesn't mean NIB is about to axe staff, insists its CEO, Andrew Healy.

"While we will naturally keep the situation under constant review, we have no plans at this time to introduce a redundancy programme, either voluntary or mandatory," he said.

Good news indeed, but the bank isn't replacing staff who leave, and has been cutting temporary and contract employees in a bid to reduce the wage bill.

This is indicative of the attitude of most Irish banks at the moment, says Jennifer Ward, manager of the banking and financial services division at Sigmar Recruitment.

"Most have been cutting back on temporary staff," she says. "However, they've been recruiting them at a more senior level in order to fill key positions on an interim basis."

Jean O'Donovan, manager of the contractor division at recruiters Brightwater, admits there has been a severe slow-down in temp roles from banks recently.

However, she adds: "From speaking to the banks, I anticipate an upswing in demand for contract and temporary staff in the next couple of months. After the recent hiring freeze, I think the first people they take on will be on a temporary basis, as they are not directly on the pay roll."