Dubai’s largest bank Emirates NBD has decided to axe as many as 800 positions as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated planned job cuts.

The latest redundancies account for 10% of the bank’s total workforce, Reuters reported citing unknown sources.

The bank already began the process of cutting hundreds of jobs this week.

Most of the layoffs have affected the employees residing in the UAE, the report added.

The retrenchment will likely affect staff from the private banking arm and other parts of Emirates NBD.

In a statement, Emirates NBD said that the recent developments have affected the economy, the financial services sector and the bank significantly.

“Unfortunately, this has meant letting go of some of our colleagues as we right size to meet our anticipated future business needs, especially in the light of the economic forecasts that point towards challenging times ahead.

“This decision was not taken lightly, and we have done our very best to treat them fairly, with respect, and set them up for success outside Emirates NBD.”

Emirates NBD had planned to invest AED1bn ($272m) in digital technology over four years ending 2020.

Regarding the layoffs, one of the sources added: “It was already in the plan for 2020, especially with the digitalisation of the bank, but the impact of coronavirus accelerated it.”