2,000 jobs go as Irish bank suffers shock loss of £9.2bn
IRISH banking giant AIB yesterday announced it expects to axe over 2,000 jobs by the end of next year.
AIB – the Allied Irish Banks group – recorded a 10.4billion euro (£9.2billion) loss last year.
It said costs needed to be lowered, with jobs to go on a phased basis during 2011 and 2012.
The loss last year compares with 2.3billion euro (£2billion) in 2009.
AIB, once Ireland’s largest bank but now 92.8 per cent state-owned, could need another 13.3billion euro (£11.7billion) bailout in a worst-case scenario.
AIB – the Allied Irish Banks group – recorded a 10.4billion euro (£9.2billion) loss last year
The Irish Government plans to shrink the state’s creaking banking sector from six homegrown lenders to two so-called pillar banks.
AIB and EBS Building Society will merge to form one banking “pillar”, while Bank of Ireland will form the second. AIB employs around 12,000 staff through its Irish divisions, with another 2,507 in its UK operations.