Central Bank to cut up to 140 roles as it seeks to shave its costs by €75m

The Central Bank of Ireland has announced plans to reduce its workforce by between 120 and 140 people in a bid to help achieve cost savings of €75 million a year by 2030.

Some €26 million of that figure is to be achieved through a reduction in pay costs and would represent an 8 per cent cut in projected 2030 pay expenditure.

In June, The Irish Times revealed that the jobs cuts and other expenditure measures had been flagged to employees in an email from governor Gabriel Makhlouf, who was reappointed for a second seven-year term in March.

According to its annual report, at the end of 2025, the Central Bank employed 2,225 full time equivalent staff. If 140 roles are cut this would amount to a reduction in staff numbers of about 6 per cent.

In spite of its employee numbers reducing by 38 last year on the level in 2024, the Central Bank’s payroll costs increased. Salaries and allowances paid to staff last year rose to €211 million, up from €200 in 2024.

Some 825 members of staff were classified as earning €100,000 or more, with Makhlouf the top earner on €342,239.

Staff numbers at the Central Bank have doubled since 2008, including employees of the formerly separate financial regulatory authority that was folded into the bank in 2010, as it devoted more resources to supervising a growing number of authorised firms.

Meanwhile, the bank has racked up losses – including shortfalls of €104.6 million last year and €795.4 million in 2024 – after an era of super profits generated by the bank in the wake of the financial crisis came to an end in 2022.

The financial regulator said the majority of the reduction in projected expenditure would be achieved through non-pay measures, including targeted IT investment, reductions in consultancy and contractor spend, and other efficiency initiatives.

The Central Bank said these moves would allow it to “adapt to a challenging external environment and to assume new legislative responsibilities”.

The Central Bank has launched a voluntary severance scheme and said it had “commenced engagement with its people and staff representatives”.

“The scheme (which will be in line with standard public service conditions) will support delivery of a lower cost trajectory in a cost-effective manner while maintaining operational effectiveness and delivering an organisation that is more agile in response to a rapidly changing environment,” a statement from the bank said.

The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) welcomed the measures announced by the Central Bank.

BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes, said: “At a time when there is a strong focus both in Ireland and across Europe on simplification and competitiveness, it is important that this ambition is reflected across the regulatory system. A strong and effective regulator remains essential, but this must go hand in hand with a continued focus on efficiency, proportionality and ensuring the regulatory framework supports Ireland’s competitiveness as a financial services centre.”