SBI merger to trim new hirings by 20%

Bank has announced there won't be any job cuts on account of the merger

The merger of State Bank of India (SBI) with its associate banks will bring down new recruitment by around a fifth next year.
 
SBI is calculating that the numbers are likely to become surplus with the merger. It has already announced there won’t be any job cuts on account of the merger.
 
“There will be an impact on recruitment next year. It could be in the range of 20-25 per cent. Already, associate banks have stopped filling vacancies. The day we decided on a merger, we knew not to opt for new recruitment in the associate banks. We won’t drastically cut down on hirings; there is a need to infuse fresh blood,” said an official. Since 2015-16, there has been no recruitment in the associate banks.
 
On an average, SBI requires at least 13,000 staff (new hires) on account of retirement every year, according to an SBI official. However, over the past two years, the bank has been going slow on recruitment, especially clerical staff. Last year, the bank did not hire any clerical staff. 
 
This year, however, SBI is recruiting around 17,000 clerical staff, one of the highest in the past few years. This includes recruitment of around 3,008 agri staff, which SBI is inducting after a gap of several years.
 
“We have a larger thrust (now) on agricultural lending and are recruiting after a gap of several years,” said an SBI official. For the past few years, 70-75 per cent of the requirement for officers at SBI was met by internal promotion.  This year, SBI is recruiting 2,004 probationary officers, against 1,976 last year.
 
The five associate banks to be absorbed into SBI are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore. SBI expects this to be complete by the end of this financial year.