Union calls for severance hike in TBank-TMB merger

Union calls for severance hike in TBank-TMB merger

Thanachart Bank's (TBank) labour union expects 4,000-5,000 jobs will be cut after the bank consolidates with TMB Bank, calling for both banks to offer higher severance payments than are legally required for those to be laid off.

After the planned merger is completed, overlapping branches and jobs are expected to be axed, with employee downsizing unavoidable, said SupachaiPatrapisudtana, head of TBank'slabour union. He made the statement after submitting a letter to Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana requesting the protection of benefits for employees of both banks.

If redundancy is needed, the labour union would like both banks to pay a higher severance amount than is required by law to allow those laid off to live a more comfortable life, said Mr Supachai.  

At present, TBank and TMB each have around 10,000 employees.

Even though top executives of both banks have insisted no staff will be laid off, they have ratcheted up pressure on employees and adopted tougher performance evaluations, he said.

In February, TMB entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding to consolidate with TBank through an entire business transfer with an estimated transaction value of 130-140 billion baht. The new entity will be the sixth-biggest bank after Bank of Ayudhya, with an asset size of 2.1 trillion baht.

Due diligence for the merger of TMB and TBank is almost complete, marking a step towards the formation of a single bank expected to provide financial services by December.


Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (4)