Type
Internal restructuring
Country
Italy
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Sector
Financial Services
Financial And Insurance Activities
Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding
64.19 - Other monetary intermediation

400 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
23 March 2016
Employment effect (start)
23 June 2016
Foreseen end date
31 December 2017

Description

Italian bank Veneto Banca started a mobility procedure that will affect up to 730 employees. According to the industrial plan, the group is to cut operational costs by centralising functions and services and reducing the number of managers. This will also involve the closure of 70 branches.

The management is open to consider various solutions, including internal relocation for about 300 employees and other 'soft' measures (for example early retirements and incentives for part-time work) for the remaining 430 staff.

Trade unions warned that the number of workers close to retirement age may not be sufficient to cover the planned exits and calls for the adoption of the so called 'solidarity contracts' (these are agreed by companies through firm-level collective bargaining agreements that envisage a reduction in working time to avoid dismissals). Unions have urged the company to adopt a more ‘responsible’ approach, also considering that further 70 branches are already in the process of being closed (Veneto BancaIT-2015).

For information about previous restructurings announced by the  group, see also Veneto BancaIT-2012, Veneto BancaIT-2011.

Update, 23/04/2016: The parties agreed 300 internal relocations and approximately 100 incentivised early retirements. Other redundancies will be avoided thanks to the use of part-time contracts, the activation of solidarity contracts and a reduction in the number of branches to be closed (60 instead of the 70 initially announced). In addition, the group will hire on a permanent basis about 100 employees currently enrolled as apprentices or employed on fixed-term contracts.


Sources

  • 23 March 2016: Il Sole 24 Ore
  • 24 April 2016: Messaggero Veneto
  • 27 April 2016: Veneto Economia

Citation

Eurofound (2016), Veneto Banca, Internal restructuring in Italy, factsheet number 86936, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/86936.