Financial service group BNY Mellon is set to close its Wexford office and transfer or make redundant the vast majority of the 310 staff that work there.

Management informed employees of the decision to shutter the Drinagh site at a meeting on Tuesday morning, with up to 95% of workers due to be moved to other locations or let go while the remaining 5% will be given the option to work from home.

BNY Mellon, which provides services in securities, investments and wealth management, first established operations in Ireland in 1994 and opened its Wexford office in 2002. The company also has offices in Dublin and Cork.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke said affected staff would be supported in every way by the government. “We will do everything we can to ensure there are options," he added.

Burke said he was "acutely aware" of the pressures facing the families involved and that he would be “front and centre” in his efforts to help them.

George Lawlor, the Labour TD for Wexford, said on the same programme that BNY staff in Wexford had endured “months of rumours," and he took issue with Burke's characterisation of the situation as "not armageddon" for staff who were told their options were to commute to Dublin or lose their job.

Lawlor said company sources had told him 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?” he asked.

In a statement, BNY Mellow said it was continually evaluating its real estate footprint to ensure the company operates efficiently.

"We are intending to close our Wexford office. We remain committed to serving our clients and relationships in the Irish market and internationally."

The company said it will not be commenting during the employee collective consultation process.

BNY Mellon has $47.8tn in assets under custody and/or administration and $2tn in assets under management, according to its latest annual report.

The group reported total revenue of $17.5bn and $4.1bn in pre-tax income in 2023.

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