Friends First has announced that 147 jobs are to be lost at the company.
It said its asset finance division, Friends First Finance, is to be wound up over the next five to seven years, with the loss of 98 jobs.
A further 49 jobs are to be cut from the wider business.
In a statement, the company said the closure of its finance division was a result of the global credit crunch, combined with the economic downturn.
Friends First, which currently employs 540 people, said it would continue to employ 390 at its corporate headquarters in Dublin and regional offices in Cork and Galway.
Unite, the union which represents workers at Friends First, says it is to hold urgent talks with management over today's announcement.
The union said it had been assured that the company would take part in meaningful consultation on the closure of Friends First Finance.
The union said it wanted to look at ways in which the number of compulsory job losses could be minimised.
