Downsizing: 11% Bank Employees Close Accounts

Till about an year ago, the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) was an anathema in the public sector banking industry, possibly the most over-manned white-collar citadel ruled by trade union leaders. Things changed overnight. Barring the Mangalore-based Corporation Bank, the entire public sector industry witnessed marching of 99,452 employees, or 11 per cent of the total staff strength.

This is extraordinary by any standard. The response was actually even higher with 1,26,711 applications (of a total strength of 8,63,117) seeking the VRS. The total cost incurred by this programme was a staggering Rs 10,293 crore.

The mother of all VRSs took place at State Bank of India which has been able to slash its rolls by 20,849. While Canara Bank downsized by 7,716, Bank of India brought its numbers down by 7,547 and Central Bank by 7,286. These four together accounted for over 43 per cent of the total downsizing done by the public sector banks.

But this is the story of only the public sector banks. The private sector