Socially acceptable job shedding until 2014 – Operating and personnel expenditure to decrease at the same rate
Hamburg/Kiel, 15 December 2011 – The Management Board and Group Works Council have unanimously agreed on a reconciliation of interests and redundancy scheme for the job cuts announced in August 2011. An extensive package of voluntary measures is to be put in place to implement the job cuts inside and outside Germany in a socially acceptable manner by 2014.
The redundancy scheme comprises a wide range of new placement offers with individual orientation counselling for the further instruments. Among others offers for the voluntary termination of employment contracts over early retirement agreements down to partial agreements.
The adjustment measures became necessary when the EU Commission made the approval granted in September for the review procedure on HSH Nordbank subject to drastic cost cuts. Overall, administrative expenditure has to be reduced by almost 30 percent, to EUR 620 million, by 2014. The Management Board and employee representatives agreed to achieve this by making savings in operating and personnel expenses in equal measure.
As announced in August, the target is to shed a further 900 full-time jobs at HSH Nordbank in addition to the cuts already planned. All in all, the number of full-time jobs is to decrease by 1, 100 from the level on 30 June 2011 to 2, 200 by 2014.
“The intensive and constructive negotiations were marked by a clear understanding by all those involved of the need for cutting costs. The common aim was to safeguard the remaining jobs in the Group and to keep the number of staff affected by the job shedding as low as possible – and in this we were successful, “ says Paul Lerbinger, Chairman of the Management Board of HSH
“It was our aim to enable a voluntary separation to fair and acceptable conditions and to establish clarity for all colleagues about the future general framework as soon as possible. As a result we were able to agree on a fair overall package for all colleagues, “ says Olaf Behm, Chairman of the Group Works Council.
