* The bank announced that it would lay off almost 20% of its staff
* The unions don't have a clue about the decision of the management: "We are worried about the situation of the colleagues who will be laid off"
* Tomas Spurny: "At the present time, the sustainability of the business involves cost cutting"
In the next 12-18 months, the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR) will lay off 1,600 employees which represent 17.5% of their total number of employees, Tomas Spurny, the CEO of the bank said yesterday, on his first official appearance in Romania. He has explained that over 60 unprofitable branches will be closed, and the number of employees will be cut from 9,100 to 7,500.
The union officials said that they haven't been informed about the number of employees who are going to be laid off.
"The first and only meeting, so far, on this subject, was held last week, and up until that moment we had no information concerning the staff which needed to be laid off in the coming period", said Ciprian Ionescu, the president of the Federation of Independent Unions of BCR.
He added: "I understand that Mr. Tomas Spurny has said today (ed. note: yesterday) that the restructuring plan hasn't been negotiated with the unions of the bank. The negotiations/discussions with the employer have not begun yet, but considering the number of those who will be laid off, it is obvious that we are talking about and we need to consider the legal obligation of the employer to begin talks for the information/consultation and collective layoffs. Such steps will be taken this week".
The number of people who are about to be laid off is very big, according to the unionists, who are waiting to find out how the remaining employees will be affected, after the implementation of the restructuring plan.
"We are concerned about the situation of our colleagues who
