Concern that the Bank of Ireland is about to export up to 600 IT jobs to India was expressed yesterday by the Irish Bank Officials' Association.
In response, the bank said it was considering out-sourcing some services but insisted there would be no impact on jobs.
A spokeswoman would not comment further, however, when asked if all the jobs concerned would remain within the Bank of Ireland.
Most of the staff involved are based in Cabinteely, Co Dublin, but some work in the city centre and others in Glencormac, Co Wicklow.
Mr Brendan Kenny, industrial relations officer with the IBOA, said the association had "grave concerns" about the issue and called on management of the bank immediately to clarify its intentions. Two of the bank's information technology divisions were under threat, he said.
These were BoI IT Solutions and the infrastructural subsidiary, ItSIS, which was formerly a joint venture company with Perot Systems and which the bank recently tried to merge with its AIB counterpart.
BoI IT Solutions, which employed 300 IT specialists, had outsourced some of its development and enhancement work to Asian locations in recent months, he said.
Many IT consultants from India-based HCL Perot Systems were spending time at BoI IT Solutions, monitoring its detailed operations.
"Briefings and suggestions from local management to staff members have raised serious concerns as to the future of the Irish operation," Mr Kenny said.
Senior management had refused, however, to provide clarification on the future of the jobs.
In a separate development, Mr Kenny said the bank had informed the IBOA of plans to outsource its IT infrastructural services, which currently has 500 staff, 300 of whom are based in the Republic with ItSIS.
The IBOA had expressed "shock and extreme disappointment" on behalf of those staff members, who were once again facing uncertainty having been through a failed IT joint venture merger with AIB.
"This latest announcement was totally unexpected given that the bank had indicated publicly that it wished to retain these specialists within the group," he said.
The bank spokeswoman said it had made it clear, when it abandoned the joint venture with AIB, that it would examine outsourcing as an alternative. It was simply seeking expressions of interest at this stage but there would be no impact on jobs, she said. Asked if the jobs might, however, transfer to another employer while remaining in Ireland, she said she could not comment further.
Mr Kenny said it was " outrageous" that Bank of Ireland was considering outsourcing jobs to another continent at a time when State agencies were endeavouring to retain jobs in the sector.
