RBC I&TS, a unit of Canada’s largest bank, decided to “proceed with layoffs following internal restructuring,” Aleba, OGBL SF and LCGB stated in a press release on 17 December.

“RBC management is committed to informing all employees affected by the redundancy scheme as soon as possible,” the labour groups said. The redundancy plan was agreed on 13 December and will include “extralegal” severance payments, they stated.

“We have finalised the details of the social plan with relevant employee representatives and an agreement was indeed reached last week,” a spokeswoman for RBC I&TS told Delano on 18 December. “This agreement will support our efforts to minimise the number of impacted positions and also includes fair financial terms and solutions to help affected employees seek future opportunities.”

“Wherever possible, job losses will be managed through natural attrition and redeployment,” the RBC I&TS spokesperson said on Wednesday. “All impacted employees will be treated fairly, respectfully and consistent with RBC values.”

Located in Esch-Belval, RBC I&TS is one of the largest providers of fund administration services in Luxembourg. The bank recently said that globally it has C$4.2trn (roughly €2.86trn) in client assets under administration, with “over 4,500 employees in 17 countries”.

The RBC spokeswoman declined to comment on the number of employees involved in the redundancy scheme and how many people the bank employed in the country.

The trade unions said the Canadian bank currently employs “more than 1,100 staff in Luxembourg.” RBC had a headcount of 1,220, according to a Statec report published in July.

Reports earlier this year put the number of job losses at 305.