Bank of China to Cut Down15,000 Employees Next Year

The authorities of Bank of China have lately made a decision to lay off 15,000 employees from next year on with 3,000 to be cut down from its Hong Kong Branch, accounting for 18% of the total staff of the branch. This is the most extensive reduction of staffs in Hong Kong during recent years.

According to the Mingpao in Hong Kong, to avoid incurring instability in society, the reduction plan will be carried out in batches and in the meanwhile, the Bank will do its utmost to offer better compensation to its laid-off staffs.

As reported, at an internal meeting, Liu Mingkang, chairman and president of Bank of China made it clear that the Bank had already mapped out a layoff goal for next year and planned to cut 10, 000 employees in China's mainland, and 5,000 in Hong Kong and other overseas areas. And of those reduced in oversea branches, about 60%, namely 3,000 employees, are from the Hong Kong Branch, breaking the "record" of cuts-down in Hong Kong.

The overseas cuts-down are mainly from the Hong Kong Branch, Bank of China by way of retirement in advance, voluntary flow and no new contracts to be signed, most of them being those of grass-root staff members, also including some directors or managers at middle level.

When announcing its business achievements of the first half of this year in August, it indicated that the staff members of the Bank decreased by 9.2% in the first half year, namely, 1,600 employees down as against the same period of last year. Among them more than 700 employees left posts of their own accord in the first half of this year.

Liu Jinbao, director of Bank of China Hong Kong and Macao Branches said that the first half of this year saw 5.17% of employees run off, lower than 7% of the market, and an estimate rate of run-off of the whole year will be less than 7%. The Bank will have 13,000 employees on the payroll when the plan of reduction is executed next year.

Sources say that the move is necessary and imperative for Bank of China, or else, it is unable to carry out reform and realignment so that it can get listed at an early date. However, in an interview with the media, spokesman of the Bank of China denied that he ever learned of the cut-down plan and declined to give further comment.



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