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UP TO 50 jobs are to be lost following the announcement today that Citi Bank is closing its hedge fund office at the IDA industrial estate in Waterford.
It is understood that half of the Waterford employees will be offered redeployment to its Dublin office. The bank says the decision is part of wider global restructuring.
The bank, which operates in over 160 countries, employs 2,200 people in Dublin. They state they remain committed to its operations in Ireland.
Waterford TD, John Deasy told TheJournal.ie that he had written to IDA chief executive Barry O’Leary this lunchtime stating:
Considering the IDA’s recent involvement with Citibank – and I presume an investment to go with it – I feel the IDA should contact the company directly and ask that all employees be offered redeployment, not merely half.
He said this was the “least the IDA could do to try to salvage something from this situation”.
He said that the job losses would have a significant impact in Waterford, a city he says has an unemployment rate of 20 per cent and “is still reeling from what’s occurred within the local economy in recent years”.
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Seems to be waterford all the time.
Aye, was there in January & its such a nice place. Shame.
Was just thinking the same as soon as I saw the headline !
Yet another jobs blow to Waterford. Unemployment in the city is 7% above the national average. It’s time the government got serious about helping the South-East compete on a level playing pitch. First step should be upgrading WIT to university & giving it the ability to drive job creation in the region. Waterford has improved dramatically as a tourist city in the last 2 or so years but jobs seem to be constantly leaking from all the other sectors.
There is a very large bias against Waterford from successive governments. The four TDs are beyond incompetent and ineffective and only feather their own nest, albeit like many others. You can make an argument that multinational companies are difficult to deal with but the government does nothing to help the region via decentralization programs or more importantly through making WIT a major university and a gateway for investment for the south east thus allowing the region to take more control over its destiny. So basically the government stand back and allow a once great city die slowly.
I have to wonder what type of clown would thumb down your comment here. I can only conclude there must be a few politicians on this forum.
My company is recruiting
In Waterford
wateford seems to be hard done by with regards to job losses,
I have a sister who is one of the fifty, so I know more about the situation at Citi than most on here making comments.
The point regarding the University is ridiculous. Let’s be brutally honest here. Do people honestly think that having a University will suddenly make FDI’s flock to Waterford or the other parts of the south east? There’s an excellent university in Limerick and the city is still a dump. I came out of secondary and went to college in the Regional as it was at the time and I feel that the education that I received there at ‘the regional’ was excellent. However I feel that the education that has been provided by staff at WIT and WRTC is being demeaned by the constant harping on about how things will be better if WIT is allowed to call itself a University. FDI will go where there is a ready supply of relevant people. I think that one of the reasons that they’re being left go is because there just isn’t the pool of relevant people. The recession is the man reason. When She started work there it was called BISYS and they struggled to get the right people. The IFSC is teeming with them. Waterford is not.
The University argument is a smokescreen for bad government representation and too many people have swallowed the University story. We, in Waterford, need jobs at all levels not just for University grads. If you look at any factory there will be 10 engineers for every 100 operators. You don’t need a university to train operators.
Well said. :)
I get your point Bob BUT without those qualified engineers there won’t be factory worker jobs. Waterford shouldn’t be jumping up & down to celebrate 20k a year call centre jobs when other places are getting 50k a year engineering or IT jobs. Upgrading WIT would allow it to grow & supply the qualified people that are needed to attract these high quality companies to the region. Why should Waterford accept the crumbs from the national table. Let’s stand up & fight for our fair share.
Why no picture of Barry O’Leary of the IDA, smiling and shaking hands with politicians and the directors of Citi Bank, like we get when they announce job ‘creation’?
Sorry my eyes are blured thought it read collecting grants and tax dodge deals ?
Or stick a picture of Bruton up, if he want to take credit for the wins he must take responsibility for the losses..
why under reporting, citi had over 200 staff in waterford just a year ago
Our “ever smiling” “”Tee shock” Enda was here couple weeks ago announcing 100 odd jobs for our city. Now we must be up to minus 350 including this latest bombshell being dropped on us. Tell ye in Government , why the hell don’t ye take a bloody big scissors & cut around our geographical line & let us float out to sea and be done with us. What have the people of the Deise ever done to keep getting this hammering. As far as I am concerned don’t let any politician ever darken my doorstep again.
And FG tell us we are recovering mmmm
truth is citi opened a second office in waterford because they had tax breaks, they could poach qualified staff from statestreet and supplement with cheap graduates and run a cheaper office out of waterford than Dublin,.
costs if running two offices priced larger than savings, especially as certain roles were outsourced office was no longer economically viable.
amazing lated as long as did citi wanted to shut down long ago
have your say