Bank of America Merrill Lynch intends to relocate up to 125 UK staff to Dublin as part of its Brexit contingency plans, with affected employees at risk of redundancy if they refuse to move to Ireland.
The bank said the “likely” relocations will impact staff working in control and support function roles including finance, risk, compliance, tech and operations as well as wholesale credit.
It added that staff will be moved “predominantly” to Ireland, starting in July 2018.
The role changes are expected to be made through a combination of new hires and “voluntary” relocations of “relevant staff” who will be offered new local contracts.
But those who fail to accept an offer to head to Dublin risk losing their jobs.
While Bank of America plans to consult affected staff, any employee which “declines an invitation to relocate to Ireland will be considered for suitable alternative employment, failing which they may be made redundant”.
Depending on the legal and regulatory regime put in place after the divorce, “it is likely that additional roles (predominantly global banking and markets roles) currently carried out by employees… in the United Kingdom will be relocated to other BAMLI Limited Branch Jurisdictions”.
“The precise number (and timing of) the potential second-phase relocations remains under review”, the bank said, adding that it was also subject to discussions with the Central Bank of Ireland and European Central Bank.
It expects the majority of those roles will head to France, with a smaller number moved to Ireland, Germany and other EU sites, and will again be made up of both new hires and voluntary relocations.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch detailed its plans in a corporate filing regarding a cross-border merger of its UK and Irish banks, meant to ensure it can continue conducting business and servicing clients in the EU after Britain leaves the bloc.
Its London banking entity is intended to operate as a branch once the merger is complete.
The Wall Street giant confirmed last year that it had chosen Dublin as its post-Brexit EU hub.
The company currently has 700 staff in Dublin and about 6,500 in the UK.
Most of its UK staff are based in London, though around 1,000 are based in Chester, while smaller teams are dotted throughout the country.
