The taxpayer-owned bank which also owns First Trust has begun a consultation process with unions on the terms of a severance programme.
The 2,500 jobs will be cut across the bank’s operations in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain.
Larry Broderick, general secretary of IBOA, the finance union, said the proposed cuts would have a devastating impact on First Trust Bank’s employees and their families.
He said: “The scale of the proposed job losses means that ordinary bank staff are being asked to suffer the consequences of the mismanagement of the bank's affairs to a disproportionate extent.
“IBOA has argued that First Trust Bank has a very important role in the economy of Northern Ireland and that everything must be done to maintain the integrity of the branch network, to keep in place the support functions in Belfast and also to ensure that the customers in Northern Ireland and Great Britain have continued service from AIB Group."
