580 jobs to go at Hibernian

It has been announced that 580 people will lose their jobs at Hibernian Insurance over the next four years.

The company - which currently employs 2,200 people in its operations in Dublin, Cork and Galway - says it is outsourcing the positions to Bangalore in India in order to cut costs.

The restructuring will begin next year, and will take three years to complete.

One in five of the job losses will affect the company's headquarters in Dublin. Dublin will remain Hibernian's corporate headquarters with overall responsibility for group strategy and operations.

Galway will be the main customer contact and call centre for general insurance while Cork will specialise in technical underwriting and claims.

"In common with all businesses in today's economic environment, it is imperative that Hibernian operates even more efficiently to provide best value and service to customers," said group chief executive Stuart Purdy.

"As a consequence, we are reorganising our operations and have embarked on a major change programme. This will take three years to complete and will underpin our long-standing position as Ireland's leading multi-line insurance company.

"We regret the impact of this announcement on our employees and are committed to managing this change carefully, working closely with our employees and their representatives."

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan expressed regret at today’s announcement.