BNY Wexford workers not facing 'Armageddon situation' says Burke

Vivienne Clarke

Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment Peter Burke has said that he wants to reassure staff at financial firm BNY’s Wexford operation that “this is not an Armageddon situation.”

Mr Burke told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that staff would be ed in every way by the government and he was hopeful that staff would be offered remote working options or transfers to BNY’s other operations in Ireland in Dublin and Cork.

“We will do everything we can to ensure there are options.”

The company was growing their options in Ireland, he added.

Mr Burke said his primary concern was the families involved and was “acutely aware” of the pressures facing them. He would be “front and centre” in his efforts to help them.

Wexford TD George Lawlor has asked what is the difference between Wexford and Cork and why is it only the Wexford staff at BNY who will be impacted by the global review.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, the Labour party representative said that BNY staff in Wexford had endured “months of rumours”.

While the Minister for Trade and Employment Peter Burke might say that the situation was not “Armageddon”, it could be a very different situation for staff in Wexford who were told that their only option was to commute to BNY Dublin to retain their job.

“That is a difficult scenario.”

Mr Lawlor said his information “from a well informed source within the company” was that there would be a number of redundancies.

“What is an interesting fact about this is that the Cork facility and the Dublin facility remain unaffected by this global review, according to the minister, and questions must be posed about that. What's different about Wexford and Cork? Not that you'd wish anything on our Cork colleagues, but why single out Wexford?”