Vysya Aims At 10% Staff Cut Via Vrs

Private sector Vysya Bank plans to shed up to 10 per cent of its 5,500-strong staff through the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) route.

"We have unveiled a voluntary retirement scheme for our staffers at all levels," Vysya Bank managing director and chief executive officer K Balasubramanian said.

The bank, in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange today, said in order to optimise the utilisation of resources and achieve a balance of age and skills it has launched a VRS for its employees which will be open from March 2 to March 26, 2002.

Balasubramanian said no corpus has been set aside for the VRS. He said one of the reasons for introducing a VRS was because the bank was undergoing a massive computerisation programme and there was a possibility that some employees might find it uncomfortable to work in such an environment.

"They could take the help of this scheme and we expect up to 10 per cent of our workforce to accept this offer," Balasubramanian said.

Vysya Bank president V Raghunathan said those above 45 years of age and with 15 years of experience are eligible for the scheme.

For the officers, the bank will pay two months salary for every year of service, for the lower staff, it will pay 2.5 months of salary for every year of service and for part time employees, three months of every year of service. Those opting for VRS will get the compensation at one time apart from other benefits.

Balasubramanian said by June, 2002, nearly 200 branches out of 400 will be fully computerised covering around 85 per cent of the total business turnover. The bank has pumped in around Rs 60 crore for computerisation of its branches.

GMR Vasavi group holds around 28 per cent in the bank with Bank Brussels Lambert (BBL) of ING holding 20 per cent, IFC holds 10 per cent, around 8 per cent is held by FIIs and NRIs and the rest is widely held.

BBL recently approached Vysya Bank to hike its stake in the bank and acquire management control, weeks before the RBI through a notification hiked the FDI limit to 49 per cent from 20 per cent.