THE WEXFORD ARM of a global financial services firm is set to close, with hundreds of jobs at risk of being lost due to cuts being taken by its parent company.

It’s understood a small minority of the 310-strong staff in Wexford will be offered to work remotely at BNY Mellon as the firm undertakes a review of its real estate assets.

The remainder will be offered transfer or a redundancy package pending the outcome of negotiations with those staff.

The company has confirmed it will close its Wexford office but said it intends on remaining in the Irish market, where it also has offices in Dublin and Cork. It signed a deal for new offices in the capital last year.

“At BNY we continually evaluate our real estate footprint to ensure we are operating efficiently,” a BNY Mellon spokesperson said in a statement.

“We are intending to close our Wexford office. We remain committed to serving our clients and relationships in the Irish market and internationally. We will not be commenting during the employee collective consultation process.”

The consultation period to decide those next steps for staff will begin tomorrow.

Staff will have the option for redundancy, remote working or re-locating to Dublin according to Enterprise Minister Peter Burke.

The news will come as a blow to the large south-east town of 20,000 people, with local representatives urging the government to intervene to either get the company to reconsider or to ensure replacement investment for the lost jobs.

It’s understood staff were informed of the news this morning during a short town hall meeting.

The company, formerly known as Bank of New York Mellon, opened its first offices in Ireland in 1994.

It has two other branches in Dublin and Cork, both of which are unaffected in this announcement.

Reaction

Browne described the company’s decision to close its Wexford office as “very disappointing” and said his thoughts were with the workers and their families.

“The company’s closure will have a serious impact not only on those directly affected but also on the local economy,” he said. 

Labour TD George Lawlor told The Journal that “whole families” were employed at the company, and claimed that staff had been dealing with “rumours” for months about their future.

He has urged the new government’s enterprise minister to “urgently” visit Wexford when they take office in the coming days.

Wexford Chamber of Commerce said the loss of jobs on this scale is a “significant blow” to the county, and we are closely monitoring developments.

“BNY Mellon has been a vital part of our local economy for many years, offering employment to the exceptional talent within our county,” chief executive of County Wexford Chamber Paula Roche said.

“We are fully committed to supporting the BNY Mellon team and the wider business community in every way we can during this challenging time.”

Dr Ray Griffin – lecturer in strategic management at South East Technological University and co-author of a regional economic monitor – said it was “devastating news” for the Wexford economy.

Griffin said major work was needed by the government and the Industrial Development Association (IDA) to ensure that greater foreign direct investment is brought towards Wexford and the wider south-east region.

“Compounding this is that Wexford has not been getting IDA visits at the scale needed to address this,” Griffin added.

“For a decade the region has needed to get its act together, and make the strategic investments needed.”

The IDA has been contacted for comment.