Published Thursday, 12 January 2012
In Northern Ireland, 350 jobs will be cut while 600 staff will be made redundant in the Republic of Ireland.
The bank's parent company Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced earlier on Thursday that 3,500 staff will be laid off in its investment wing in the UK and internationally in a bid to compete in the financial sector.
A statement read: "Ulster Bank confirms that arising from a review of its operating model; the Bank is announcing 350 proposed job losses in Northern Ireland today. As part of this, the Bank is also announcing 600 proposed job losses in the Republic of Ireland.
"As local and global economies continue to deteriorate, these actions are being taken as part of the bank's overall business strategy to ensure the organisation is well placed to compete effectively in the market and continues to serve the needs of its 1.9 million customers across the island of Ireland through its extensive branch and business centre network."
Larry Broderick, from the Irish Bank Officials Association, took part in talks earlier this week to save the jobs.
"Our members feel very strongly that Ulster Bank staff are continuing to suffer for the mismanagement, incompetence and greed of senior management in Ulster Bank's parent company, RBS, which has been nationalised in all but name, as a result of the biggest collapse in British corporate history."
Mr Broderick said the ordinary staff throughout RBS have been called upon to bear "a disproportionate amount of the pain."
"In Ulster Bank too, rank-and-file staff are again being asked to make the lion's share of the sacrifices being demanded to restore the bank to health."
Conor Murphy, Sinn Féin's Economy Spokesperson, has voiced serious concerns about the job losses.
The MP said he will be asking Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster what steps she intends to take to engage with Ulster Bank management on behalf of the workers.
"I want to know what initiatives she is going to take to ensure that these workers and all of the other workers who have lost their jobs in this recession have a future, that their families have a future. Just like the construction industry before it the banking industry is likely to become a lot smaller in the time ahead."
The MLA for Newry/Armagh said it was unlikely that many of the workers would gain employment in the area in the near future.
"And while many people have little sympathy with the banking sector it must be remembered that it was not the bank workers who created the financial morass that we find ourselves in and they must be given the same considerations as other workers whose jobs are under threat.
"Retraining and upskilling facilities must be put in place by Government to ensure that these workers and their families who have received this news today are not lost to emigration or unemployment as has been the fate of so many others."
SDLP South Down MP Margaret Ritchie described the announcement as "deeply worrying."
She is concerned about the cross-border impact of the job losses.
Ms Ritchie made the comments ahead of a meeting of the Good Friday Agreement Committee where she will be raising the issue.
"It is outrageous that, while senior executives at RBS are still reaping significant financial rewards, 950 people, many of whom are women or part-time workers, face being put out of work.
"I have already sought an urgent meeting with the Treasury in London to discuss these matters and we are seeking a similar meeting with An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, wherein I would plan to discuss the cross-border impact of the Ulster Bank cuts."