Dramatic job cuts at BNP Paribas' Swiss unit will cost 250 employees their job. A worker representation group voiced satisfaction over a social plan meant to cushion the blow from the cuts.
French giant BNP Paribas is cutting nearly every fifth job in Switzerland in a restructuring bid. Roughly 250 employees of total 1,400 in Switzerland, mainly in Geneva, are expected to be let go next year and in 2021.
Several weeks of negotiations between a Swiss banking staff lobby group, the SBPV, workers, and the Paris-based bank have resulted in a social plan. The SBPV, which represents employee interests, said in a statement on Monday that the agreement fulfils expectations of staff.
Family Perks
Specifically, the plan considers seniority as well as age of those let go, and offers employees over 58 more favorable conditions for early retirement. The bank also pledged to help ex-employees to find new positions through generous outplacement measures and continuing education. Employees with families are to receive an added benefit.
One of the largest foreign banks in Switzerland, BNP is acting in Switzerland as part of a wider transformation currently underway at group level. Besides its Geneva bridgehead, the French bank maintains offices in Zurich, Basel, and Lugano. It cited thinning margins, negative interest rates, stepped-up technology investments, and Europe's feeble economy as the reasons for the cuts.
