Vancity's president says seven per cent of its staff has been laid off. 

The Vancouver-based credit union described the layoffs as organizational changes in a statement Thursday (June 13).

Vancity president Wellington Holbrook said earlier in the day the leadership team held an all-staff meeting "to announce difficult changes involving organizational restructuring." Nearly 200 of Vancity's 2,500-plus employees have been laid off. 

In the statement, Holbrook said the layoffs are essential for two reasons: "to align Vancity's business with our current market conditions and we also need to support a future-focused renewal of our commitment to members and community."

Vancity is a cooperative with more than 560,000 member owners. There more than 50 branches located in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Squamish and Alert Bay.