It seems likely that Ireland will escape BNY Mellon's global redundancy plan

Considering all the talk about growth at BNY Mellon's Irish operation, it seems unlikely that the 1,500 global redundancies announced by the firm would hit here. It hasn't been ruled out, however.

BNY Mellon yesterday revealed that it was cutting 1,500 people - or 3% of its 48,900-strong workforce - and rolling out a hiring freeze "across much of the company" in a bid to take advantage of natural turnover, and reducing contractors and consultants, rather than making compulsory redundancies.

Expenses had been growing "unsustainably faster" than revenues, according to Robert P. Kelly, BNY Mellon's chairman and chief executive officer.

There are obviously reasons for concern in Ireland. The firm employs more than 1,700 people across offices in Dublin, Cork, Wexford and Navan.

A spokesperson for BNY Mellon tells us that it's still "too early to say" whether the planned headcount reductions would affect Ireland, and that it would work with the "regional leadership teams to coordinate any impact to a region".

If we had to speculate, however, we'd suggest it was unlikely that Ireland would be hit by the redundancies. Assets under administration in BNY Mellon's Irish operation have increased by nearly 50% since the beginning of 2010, and now stand at €350bn.

The group has been steadily bolstering its headcount throughout 2010 and in June announced plans to recruit an additional 50 people for its new derivatives pricing and clearing venture. And, for all the talk of a hiring freeze, it continues to offer vacancies in Ireland.