Permanent TSB job cuts look like the first of many

Permanent TSB looks set to be the first Irish bank to pull the trigger this year as it unveils up to 350 job cuts in the second tranche of redundancies within 12 months.

The bank, whose parent company is Irish Life & Permanent, is believed to be briefing staff and management this afternoon, but reports point to an estimated 250-350 job losses. This follows 140 redundancies at branch level in the first quarter of 2010, and an earlier attempt to reduce costs by offering staff sabbaticals back in 2008.

This shouldn't come as a huge surprise, bearing in mind that the bank has been weighed down by its residential mortgage book for some time now, with arrears increasing by 26% in the first half of 2010.

It's therefore likely that the mortgage lending teams will be targeted (though the bank couldn't be reached for comment on this), and any affected staff will be anxiously eyeing any future job prospects in this area.

The good news is that it isn't entirely barren - provided staff are willing to make a sideways move.

New lending is obviously a no-no, but recruiters Morgan McKinley has said in its 2011 salary guide that the bulk of hiring in the Irish retail banking space has been within collections and arrears a the junior to mid level as banks battle increasing mortgage delinquencies.

But Permanent TSB's cuts look like the beginning of many. While the government is keen to minimise job losses at both Anglo and Irish Nationwide, its expected that hundreds of roles could be lost due to back office duplication in areas like admin and IT.

What's more AIB's restructuring plan is due in the first quarter, which will inevitably involve some job losses.