Standard Bank has denied reports it will lay off 148 people in its IT department, saying it is merely restructuring the 148 roles within its IT operations.
Spokesperson Erik Larsen says while 148 IT roles will be affected, the bank will try to accommodate as many employees as possible. Standard Bank currently employs more than 4 000 IT professionals.
"All affected employees will have the opportunity of being redeployed elsewhere in Standard Bank," says Larsen. "Affected employees will also receive assistance from Standard Bank in finding alternative employment."
Larsen says the proposed restructuring of IT roles comes after the bank undertook a thorough review of its IT operations, which revealed areas of inefficiencies and duplication. "In an effort to get greater levels of operational efficiency and to maximise effective service to our employees and customers, a decision has been made to reduce the number of internal IT support roles within Standard Bank IT," the bank said in a statement released yesterday.
The statement further says the bank has entered into consultations with finance trade union Sasbo and employees to minimise and mitigate the effects of the restructuring process.
In September last year, Standard Bank refuted rumours that it was planning to retrench a large number of staff in the IT unit. The bank, however, said the structure of its IT departments will be reviewed as markets and competition change, as this forms part of remaining competitive.
A restructuring process initiated by Absa last year led to about 1 600 IT professionals being told to reapply for their jobs and saw fewer than 30 staff members left without a job. Trade union Solidarity took Absa to court to force it to consult with the union over the retrenchment process, after the bank said it will only be consulting with Sasbo.
According to Solidarity spokesperson Moira-Marie Kloppers, the union is now in consultation with Standard Bank on the restructuring process and the impact thereof.
Kloppers says should the restructuring lead to retrenchments, the union will insist on being included in that process as well, to help mitigate the effect on the employees involved and provide them with financial advice.
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