Page 127 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

such as the health insurance, special loan interest rate, higher employment
termination compensation, and others. Swedbank also offers some training on
job searching.

6.7.2. Restructuring and job losses
Swedbank offers a more attractive compensation package for voluntary
redundancies; all but a few of the redundancies have been voluntary. Swedbank
is planning to outsource their telephone bank service to Lattelecom, a
telecommunications company, and most of the employees of this department will
continue working for Lattelecom on similar terms as in the bank.
Many redundancies are due to closing of local branches and do not affect a
very specific set of functions. When some functions, such as issuing loans, are
no longer needed in the bank, most employees performing these roles have been
retrained to perform some other function, such as restructuring issued loans.
Most redundancies are directly caused by the reduction in the volume of
business and workload. Unless an employee is a low-performer, the bank follows
two simple steps to decide whether she/he should be let go. Is the position of the
employee still necessary to do business? Is a suitable position for this employee
available elsewhere in the bank?
The employees of Swedbank have not organised into a trade union, and
almost all redundancies have been mutually agreed upon; therefore, the time
between selection, notification and the end of employment was very short, in
many cases just a few days. With the State employment agency’s approval, the
number of terminations was reported post-factum at the end of the month. There
are no specific secured positions, except the general ‘needed for business’, but
neither are there any specific groups that are considered at risk. Swedbank does
not plan any further downsizing, assuming that there are no unexpected
problems in the economy.

6.7.3. Restructuring practice and processes
Over the years, Swedbank has developed an image of a very attractive employer
for high-skilled workers. Several years in a row, Swedbank has been ranked in
the top five of ‘the most attractive employer’ in Latvia, even after the downsizing
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( ). As a result, Swedbank employees are highly valued in the labour market,
and used to have few troubles finding other employment. The HRM Director of
Swedbank estimates that up to 90% of employees made redundant at the end of

49
( ) LETA. Iekārotākais darba devējs – LMT; darbinieki meklē stabilitāti. 25 November 2009. Web.
27 November 2009. http://www.diena.lv/lat/business/hotnews/iekarotakais-darba-devejs-lmt.
[cited 7.5.2010].

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