CaixaBank cuts number of workers affected by redundancy plan by 500

BarcelonaCaixaBank announced on Tuesday that it will reduce by 500 people the total number of layoffs, after the recent merger with Bankia. Thus, the bank will cut 7,791 jobs, compared to the 8,291 proposed at first.

The decision has been taken, according to several bank sources consulted by Europa Press, after the third meeting with workers' representatives. CaixaBank's management has committed to relocating these 500 workers in other subsidiaries, reducing the number of redundancies.

A large part of this group of 500 workers will be assigned to CaixaBank Tech, the technology subsidiary that manages the bank's IT infrastructure and develops projects related to digital transformation. For the rest of the workers affected by the redundancy file, the entity claims that it is finalising a plan with a package of measures to ensure that "100%" of workers who leave their jobs and want to rejoin the labour market can find a stable job.

During this last meeting, the management of CaixaBank has also informed the unions it will prioritise voluntary departures. In the next meeting between the parties, scheduled for next Tuesday, the bank will give the unions further details on the plan.

"Cosmetic operation"

Despite the announcement of CaixaBank on the reduction of the total number of workers affected by the redundancies, the main unions consider it is a "cosmetic operation". The workers' representatives insist that the conditions of the job cuts are unacceptable and distrust the relocation plan promised by the bank.

In statements to Efe, the general secretary of CCOO in CaixaBank, Ricard Ruiz, explained that the reduction in the number of job cuts was already somehow provided for in the documentation provided by the bank, which claims that 630 current jobs can be transferred to subsidiaries.

In the same vein, the state leader of financial branch of union UGT, Victoriano Miravete, has claimed that it was still possible that in future meetings 130 relocations more than those announced by the entity are added. In any case, the two union leaders agree that the reduction of the overall number of people affected by the cuts was already a planned measure and point out that the bank has taken the step to try to improve its image.

Thus, the unions criticise that the bank's position is inflexible on many other issues, such as compensation offers to those affected, which are maintained, or the intention that half of those whose jobs are cut are under 50, which also remains in force. The usual approach in the previous large rounds of job cuts in the financial sector consisted in giving out early retirements and incentivise departures with compensation to avoid outright layoffs.